I grab my Nalgene from my backpack and unscrew the cap before handing it to her.
She blinks at me like I’ve just offered her a kidney. “You need water,” I say. “You’re not looking very good.”
For a second, I think she’s going to fight me on it. But then she surprises me. She takes the bottle and drinks slowly, her throat moving, lashes fluttering slightly.
I swallow. Why is that attractive? I don’t know.
When she finishes, she hands it back. “Thanks,” she says.
“So, what do you think about hiking in general?”
“I think it sucks. I’m sorry that this is one of your favorite activities, but it gets a zero out of ten from me.”
“Even if you get to spend the afternoon with me?” I ask quietly.
That pulls a smile from her. She grunts. “You’re the worst. The actual worst.”
There’s no bite to her words. I walk beside her again, matching her slower pace.
She doesn’t push me away. She just mutters something about pine needles and toe blisters. As we start to climb a steeper incline, the shade stretches long overhead.
“You okay?” I ask.
She gives me a little look. “I’m okay. I don’t need you to check on me.”
“That’s just what I do. I like to make sure my girls are okay.”
“Your girls, huh? Is that what I am?”
I shrug. “Maybe you could be.”
She narrows her eyes at me. I think she’s about to let me have it. But before she can, someone shouts from the trail below us.
I can’t see anyone, but whoever it is sounds close. I turn and start back down the trail.
Around the next switchback, I find Letitia and Mei trying to help Nikki stand. One of the producers is whipping a cameraman into place, but I bark out, “Are you serious? You guys aren’t helping her? Come on, this is a medical emergency!”
Nikki’s knees give out and she crumples, dragging Mei down with her.
I call out, “Rich! Get Divya! We need a doctor!”
Wren passes me and kneels beside Nikki, who is flat on the ground now. She feels Nikki’s forehead and tries to talk to her.
Nikki’s eyes flutter open. She responds, but I can’t hear what she says.
Before I can issue another command, Divya comes barreling down the trail. She pushes past me and takes over.
“Okay, move aside. Let me see her.”
She all but pushes Mei out of the way and kneels down, checking Nikki’s pulse and talking to her a little. Wren gets a bottle of water out of her backpack and hands it to Nikki, but Nikki doesn’t seem to be aware of it. Wren tries to coax her into taking a drink.
Divya looks around, then locks eyes with me. “We need to call for medics. Now.”
I turn my head. One of the PAs waves at me. “I’m already on the phone with them.”
“Can we move her down to the trailhead?” he asks Divya.
Divya looks around and then nods. “I think so. Could two of you come in and take her arms and help her walk? There isn’t anything obviously wrong with her, but she’s extremely tired. Maybe dehydrated, maybe a little low blood sugar. Her pulse is very fast.”
