"There's an incident in a nearby forest nearby, we're attending and we need a doctor with us - query two patients both with existing heart conditions."

Charlie looked up at Connie and Sam. "You two are the heart specialists so one of you should go."

"Connie's better." Sam muttered, much to Connie's surprise.

"Actually we could do with you both." Jez added.

"We're both about to go off shift. Give me the directions and I'll drive us there." Connie answered.

"Wow, you actually offered to drive me somewhere!" Sam commented sarcastically as they got in Connie's car. "You don't norrmally like to be seen with me."

"We get seen together all the time." Connie responded, with a vacant expression. "I'm surprised you wanted to get in the car with me...or that you let Grace get in with me." She added, still expressionless.

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Oh, why do you think, Sam?!" Connie snapped - suddenly sounding very angry, as she pulled out of the car park and began following the ambulance at a safe distance.

"The crash wasn't your fault." Sam said quietly, realising that he'd hit a nerve.

"Shut up!" She snapped again, angrily. "I'm not having this conversation with you."

Sam bit his lip and turned away to stare out of the window. For once, he didn't want to get into an argument with her - not about this. He knew that on some level, Connie felt enormous guilt that Grace had got so badly hurt and she hadn't.

As they pulled up at the forest, Sam heard Connie sigh deeply and looked back at her. She leaned back against the headrest and closed her eyes briefly. She looked different from the tough Mrs Beauchamp every one was used to. The usual icy front she hid behind was gone, and she looked vulnerable and exhausted.

"Sorry." She whispered.

"That's ok. I didn't mean to upset you." he muttered.

Connie sighed again. "Can we just finish this shift, please?"

Sam reached over and squeezed her hand. "Sure."

At the end of the shift...

"Are you sure you don't want a lift back to the ED, Sam? - your car's there." Jez pointed out, helpfully.

"No, it's ok. I need to talk to Connie anyway. She can pick me up in the morning and bring me in."

"Ok, have it your way." Jez shrugged, climbing into the ambulance.

As the ambulance drove off, Sam wandered back to Connie. She was waiting by her car.

"What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Urm...mine or yours?" He asked - unsure of how to actually start this particular conversation. The conversation she had already told him was prohibited, in no uncertain terms.

Connie pouted. "No. Here." She said stubbornly.

Sam sighed irritably. "Connie, It's January, it's freezing and it looks like it's going to snow."

"Here!" She repeated, her temper rising - it didn't take much, nowadays -, especially with Sam Strachan.

"No!" He barked, grabbing the car keys off her. He knew they were being childish, but he was as angry as her now - he had, after all, been trying to find out how she was really feeling, after their bitter words earlier. Not that Connie knew that. She had immediately assumed that he was going to have a go at her about something and had jumped on the offensive. As usual, they were arguing about nothing.

"Sam!" She yelled at him as as he ran off. "Urgh!" She pulled her heels off, threw them on the ground next to her car and chased after him.

Connie caught up with Sam quite fast without her heels. She grabbed him around the middle and he spun around in her arms. Sam stumbled backwards - taken aback by how short she suddenly was. Connie instinctively tightened her grip on him to stop him from falling over, but changed her mind when he grabbed onto her for support - instead opting to take advantage of his plight. With one of his arms around her and his mind distracted with trying to keep his balance, Connie made an attempt to grab her keys back off him, but he thwarted her attempt by throwing them away.

Having thrown the keys, he immediately lost his balance again and staggered about, still holding onto Connie - now with both arms. Connie herself, was now also distracted by his unsteadiness and as they both tried to regain some sort of balance from each other, they ended up tripping over each other instead and collapsed on top of each other on the frozen ground.

"Oh!" Connie exclaimed, surprised to find herself suddenly looking down at him.

"Mm-hm" Sam answered and before she could protest, he pulled her towards him and their lips crashed together.

Connie didn't resist him as he had expected her to and when they finally broke apart, she found that he was now staring down at her.

"We should go." She said, softly.

"Do we have to?" He muttered.

Connie smiled., brushing her cold thumb across his equally cold cheek. "You need to get back to Grace."

"Mmm, just a few more minutes" Sam murmured, vaguely, giving her another kiss.

Connie kissed him again, before gently pushing him off her. "We need to find my car keys before it gets dark." She pointed out with a smile, "Or we'll have to stay here all night!"

"I guess." Sam sighed. As far as he was concerned, staying here with her all night, didn't seem like such a bad idea. He got to his feet and pulled Connie up with him. "I think I threw them over there." He brushed some wet leaves out of her hair and indicated up the hill. He took her hand and they walked up the hill, looking around. "There!" Sam suddenly spotted the keys and letting go of Connie, he went over and retrieved them, triumphantly.

They both felt a sudden movement beneath their feet and looked at each other.

"Sam?" Connie questioned, nervously.

He shook his head. "I don't know. Come here, darling."

Connie moved over to him. Sam put the car keys in his pocket and wrapped his arms protectively around her. They looked around nervously - both knowing that something was going to happen imminently.

All of a sudden, they both realised that they were falling and tightened their grip on each other.

"UH!" They hit the ground and both lay still - too shocked to speak or move. Eventually the shock passed.

"Are you ok?" Sam asked.

"Think so. Are you?

He nodded. Connie sat up, looking around. " What happened? Where the hell are we?"

"Er...I think we fell down the rabbit hole!" Sam commented.

She looked confused. "What?"

"Alice in Wonderland...down the rabbit hole..."

"Oh. Grace's favourite book when she was little." Connie nodded. "She made me read it to her every night. Never wanted a different story. only that one!"

Connie and Sam smiled at each other for a moment. Sam got his phone out. "Nothing. No signal. Great. You?"

"No, me neither." She answered, checking her phone.

"Must be a sink hole, or something." Sam remarked, looking around their makeshift prison. "The sides are very steep - I don't think we'll be able to climb out."

"Great!" Connie retorted. "No phones, nobody about, no one knows we're still here and there's no escape, so what do we do now?"

Sam suddenly pounced on her. She squealed as he gently pushed her back down on the ground. "Well, I've got a few ideas, Mrs Beauchamp!" He remarked, flirtatiously.

"Mmm, have you now?" She giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck. He kissed her again. "All the same, we should try to get out of here, Sam." They both sat up and looked around again.

Sam got up, looking thoughtful. "This bit looks a bit less steep - look there are rocks jutting out..." he mused, walking over.

"No!" Connie cut him off. She got up and walked over to him, putting her hand on his arm. "You've already said it's too steep to climb."

Sam wrenched his arm from her grip. "Do you want to get out of here, or not?!" He snapped - a little more sharply than he intended too.

She held her hands up. "Fine. I was trying to stop you getting hurt, but if that's what you want to do - go ahead. I'm not arguing, Sam." She stepped back and leaned against the wall of the cavern, arms folded.

Sam stared at her. This was the first time Connie Beauchamp had ever walked away from an argument with him.

"Well, go on then." She pressed, watching him.

Sam sighed and turned back to the wall. He moved towards it, more aware than not of Connie's expectant gaze on him. He gripped two of the jutted-out rocks above his head, placed his foot on a lower one and began climbing up. He didn't get very far and gasped as his back met with the cold ground again.

"Sam!"

"Ow! My bruises have bruises!" He complained as she appeared over him.

"Are you ok?" She asked, kneeling down and leaning over him.

"Yeah...are you not going to say 'I told you so'?"

She smiled and shook her head. "No, I don't think so. You were trying to help." She squeezed his arm and shuffled backwards, sitting against the wall.

"I just wanted to try and get you out." He muttered, aware that his hospital-sized ego had also taken a knock.

"I know."

"So whose really bad idea was this?" Sam joined her by the wall, groaning from his now aching body.

Connie patted his leg sympathetically, as he sat down next to her. "Mine. You wanted to go back to talk. I insisted we stayed here... but I'm glad we agree that this was a bad idea!"

Sam chuckled and put his arm around her. "I was the one who ran off with your keys and threw them away though, so shall we just agree that we're both equally to blame?"

"Mmm, ok." Connie glanced up. It was starting to snow. "Oh, brilliant!" She muttered.

"So, what do we do now?" Sam commented, checking both their phones again. Nothing.

"Well, Grace's child-minder must have realised that you should have been home by now - I mean it's..." She checked her wristwatch, squinting to see it it the moonlight. "Nearly six o'clock. It got dark ages ago."

Sam sighed and leaned his head against the wall.

Connie looked at him, suddenly afraid that he'd hurt himself in the fall and not told her. "Sam?"

"Grace is at a sleepover tonight - she had a club after school. They said they'd take her to school in the morning."

Connie laughed weakly. "Great, just great." She groaned suddenly and reached forward to rub her frozen feet - which she now realised were quite painful.

"Connie - your feet!" Sam exclaimed in horror upon noticing her bare feet.