Posted by Lieutenant Nathan Harland (Counselor) in Location Unknown - Miracle On Ice
*** 10 Months Ago, Martha’s Vineyard ***

“Mommie!” came a sound from behind them as Nathan and Chloe turned to hear what the commotion was. In that simply word everything seemed to change, the silence cracked as Nathan saw Maddie and Logan running across the pond, flowers tight in his daughter’s grip as Nathan’s mind began to switch gears. No longer did it matter what Chloe had said or did, the center of the ice wasn’t safe, Logan should have known this but now the pair were running as if it was no big deal. The stomping of little feet cracking and bending the ice underneath.

“Dad doesn’t care about your flowers. He wants to play hockey with me,” Logan yelled chasing after Maddie. Why did she always have to try and be the center of attention? Their dad said just a second. He was coming to play hockey not fuss and moan over some stupid purple flowers.

“Nathan?” Chloe felt all the blood drain from her body as she repeated his name. Nausea swept over her as it does anyone who can see a future that is going to end in tragedy. The first repetition of his name was in question form. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe the ice was not as weak as she thought. It was bitter cold and the dead of winter in Massachusetts. Maybe it was just her motherhood paranoia at work.

“No!” Nathan shouted as he began running towards the pond leaving Chloe where she stood as he began to make his way to his children, fearing each second as he raced to get to the children.

As the kids watched, it would seem less of an angry father and more of one trying to play, at least Logan hoped as he let go of his sister’s hand. “Daddy watch!” Logan shouted as he smiled wide, his father wasn’t going. He was coming to see them both, it wasn’t ever as bad as it seemed.

“Nathan!” The second repetition of her husband’s name had a panicked and strained quality to it. Nathan had not yelled or engaged his children from shore as was typical when they called out the classic watch me phrase. Instead, he was running full bore towards them hyper-focusing on a single point. “Nathan… get them,” Chloe began to chase after him feeling an icy cold rush engulf her body. “Logan…Maddie, stop,” she yelled out not sure if this was good advice or bad.

“Watch Dad. I learned how to butterfly,” Logan yelled knowing his dad would be far more impressed with this new skill than some half-frozen flowers. He just needed to grab Nathan’s attention first. Sliding to a stop on the ice, Logan dropped to his knees and spread them slightly outward. This maneuver in hockey was called the butterfly. It was a style of protecting the goal where the goalie dropped to their knees to cover the lower half of the net with their leg pads. Logan smiled as he dropped feeling his knees impact the ice. He had performed the trick perfectly except they were not in the local ice rink where the depth of the frozen water was only a few inches over a layer of concrete. Logan had performed the maneuver where the depth of the frozen water was only a few inches over a layer of liquid water. As soon as his knees impacted the ice, Logan could feel it start to crack and separate. The impact of his knees was just enough to crack the surface and shatter the thin icy covering. “Dad,” Logan yelled feeling panic bubbling over in his body. “Dad,” his voice took on a shriller more high-pitched tone as Logan felt the ice break free. Lunging his body forward, Logan laid flat like Nathan had taught him, spreading his bodyweight out over a larger surface and slowly crawling away from the gaping gash that was behind him threatening to suck him down into darkness. “Help me,” Logan’s panicked voice yelled out as he reached a hand up toward Nathan’s form running towards him.

It would be years later for Logan to understand exactly why Nathan did not stop to help him. All he wanted was for his dad to scoop him up into his strong arms and hold him tight. Instead what Logan felt was Nathan’s hand closing around his wrist and yanking Logan harder than he had ever felt from his spot on the ice and whipping him back towards the shore. In a different time or place, this action might have been fun but right now it just added to the fear Logan Harland was experiencing. The movement was so fast, everything was a blur. At first, it was due to the tears fogging up what Logan could see. Then it was his mom’s black coat that he was being pressed into as she took him into her arms screaming over and over for Nathan to find his sister.

*** Now - En Route to Teller Industries Medical Facility ***

“Computer begin recording,” Nathan said as he began to fly the shuttle from the Sabre to the location Aedan had purchased. The medical facility wasn’t as well known as many of Aedan’s other assets, but it had become a life saver for Nathan’s sanity in the months to come.

“Clo Bell, I am not sure if you will get this message before I return, I hope I return with great news… but I know you deserve to know how everything happened… why I haven’t always been the man you married for the last part of a year… it all started that day… I hate that day, I can’t sleep without seeing it… every second in perfect memory… but, maybe this makes up for all of that… maybe I won’t be a monster if I can just save one life.”

*** 10 Months Ago, Martha’s Vineyard ***

Maddie froze feeling the ice beginning to break under her feet. “Mah,” was all Maddie could get out before it felt like a thousand bees began to sting her body. Panic forced her to move her arms but the sting of the frigid water made her limbs feel thick and numb. Opening her mouth to scream, icy water filled it. Instead of just closing her mouth and holding the water there as she did in their swimming pool, Maddie inhaled feeling her lungs begin to burn for a breath. The frozen water quickly filled her lungs. Looking up Maddie screamed again releasing only a cascade of bubbles from the little air she had left in her body. The site of a ceiling of ice above her sent Maddie into a frenzy. She was drifting away from the spot where she fell in and could not break through the mirror-like surface of ice preventing her from taking a breath. The more she fought and struggled the more icy water filled her lungs until her kicks and struggles began to lessen. Her vision was starting to go black as her now weighted-down clothes and shoes, were dragging her to the bottom of the pond.

The splash of the water echoed in the trees as Nathan went in headfirst as he began to dive. She was dropping fast, too young to swim in a pond this deep, weighted down with all the winter clothing. Nathan’s own coat and shoes had been shed just moments before littering the ice as he felt the icy knifes sting all around him as he went in. He could barely see anything, the ice made everything dark but her pink coat shined bright enough as he grabbed on and began to pull himself back upwards to the surface.

For Nathan, this all seemed to be an eternity, but in fact, it was less than a half-minute of time underwater. For water this cold, for one that small and young, it might as well have been an eternity. As he broke the surface he began to swim to the edge of the ice as he hoisted her on top, his own body freezing and feeling numb as he climbed up on top.

“Maddie,” Chloe let out a small sigh of relief seeing Nate pull the familiar pink jacket out of the water behind him. “Oh, my god baby.” Her happiness faded as she realized there were no sounds or movements coming from her young daughter’s body. “Nathan. Nathan what’s“

“Contact emergency line!” Nathan shouted to Chloe. His voice did not have the panic the rest of the family was showing. Instead, it was the calm tone he used in the hospital when dealing with a medical crisis.

“Nathan,” Chloe looked at him shocked and unable to process what was happening before her eyes. Normally Chloe slipped into the same professional detached demeanor her husband was displaying yet this was not a stranger. This was her baby, nonresponsive, blue, and lying on the ice. Every muscle in Chloe’s body was frozen as cold and numb as Maddie’s. “Maddie. Maddie,” Chloe called out praying what she was seeing was a dream.

He looked over before his eyes glanced down at the small black debris behind her. Her personal com had been shattered by him in a fit of rage as he felt a numbness continue to move over him as he reached into his pants, releasing his own com just took a 10-foot plunge.

“I can’t find my phone,” she screamed patting down her body as if one was magically tucked in a hidden pocket. “I can’t find my phone Nate,” Chloe’s voice held the high pitch shriek everyone in the family was using as she watched in disbelief as Nathan began to move as fast as his frozen limbs would let him with their daughter’s body in his arms.

“Move, go inside contact there now!” Nathan said quickly as he took Maddie’s blue lifeless body from the ice to the shoreline.

“Logan go. Call emergency contact,” Chloe snapped yanking her son to his feet and shoving him towards the house. Her subconscious screamed for her to leave and do what Nathan asked but the sight of Maddie prevented her from doing so.

Chloe dropped to her knees as he began to unzip the coat as he prepared to do CPR. Chloe picked up Maddie’s limp hand and began kissing it and saying soft words as if trying to wake her from a deep sleep. Somewhere deep inside, Chloe felt a wave of despair engulfing her. Maddie’s pulse was non-existent as he took it in between reps as his mind began to blur. He felt his lips on hers, somehow colder than he felt in the ice as he kept doing more reps. “Come on Maddie come on!” Nathan shouted, a sting of tears falling down his cheeks. Icy cold trickles of water leaked from Maddie’s lips with each chest compression trying to start her heart. “One…two..three,” Nathan called out the cadence of CPR as he performed it.

“Nathan, it’s not working. Why is it not working?” Chloe’s voice was becoming more desperate as the reality set in all of Nathan’s attempts to revive his daughter were failing. The cadence filled her head like a buzz only to be replaced by the sound of the emergency contact team beaming into space around them.

*** Now - En Route to Teller Industries Medical Facility ***

“I have lived with a hatred of myself for a long time after that day, I was angry… I shattered your phone which… every second count in a moment like those, and I didn’t think to take mine out… I… I should have known better. If I hadn’t have blown up, if I had tried to trust you more, if I had been there more… work devoured me… it still does at times. I try to help the galaxy so much, and I let slip the people I love more than myself through my grasp… I hope you can forgive me of that mistake Clo bell, cause I don’t know if I ever will.” Nathan said as he felt a sting of tear begin to hit his cheek as he wiped it past his face.

Harland, CNS