A primary mobile station engaged in a communication session via a radio access network (RAN) may receive forward link communications over a forward link channel and transmit reverse link communications over a reverse link channel. If the quality of the communication session degrades, the primary mobile station may involve a secondary mobile station by establishing a short-range wireless communication link with the secondary mobile station, e.g., using Bluetooth™, IEEE 802.11, or other wireless communication protocol. The primary mobile station may then transmit reverse link communications to the RAN over the reverse link channel and also transmit the reverse link communications to the secondary mobile station, via the short-range wireless communication link, for transmission to the RAN. The RAN may receive the reverse link communications from the primary and secondary mobile stations as two distinct reverse link signals, which the RAN may combine together to achieve a diversity gain.