Trail Of Terror : The Journey Back

A/N : I would like to dedicate this story to my guest reviewer icemaiden and Sylvia Elaine who both asked if I would consider writing a tag onto this episode and so inspired my muse and also to another Nancy in my life who needs cheering up at the minute. The chapters will be shorter than my normal ones and I don't intend for this to be a long story but then with me you just never know ;-) but I hope you will all enjoy it none the less.

The beginning parts of this story are borrowed from the original episode until my muse diverts it in a different direction. The borrowed parts and the characters used belong to Quinn Martin.

Chapter 1

Steve struggled to crawl over to where Nancy Elizabeth Mellon was, still on her hunkers pointing Steve's gun at the men who had threatened them. Every movement was agony and sent excruciating rivulets of pain through his back and his head was starting to swim sickeningly. His shirt was still soaked from his earlier collapse into the stream and now the soggy attire was making him feel even more uncomfortable. Crawling slowly forward, the ground was muddy and slimy and didn't allow much grip as he tried to reach the brave, young woman who had just saved them both. When he finally reached her he grabbed at her leg as a means to drag himself up into a somewhat elevated position and then his hand slipped down and sunk into the slimy, dark mud barely keeping him upright.

"Are you alright?" he asked, concerned by the way her gaze was fixed and her hands were shaking.

It had been a traumatic encounter and although he was relieved that they had made it out alive, he felt guilty that she had been the one who had been forced to use his gun to save them.

"Yeah ... yeah I'm alright. Are you alright?" she asked, her voice as shaky as her hands as she still pointed the gun with one hand at the two brothers and reached out her other hand and placed it on Steve's arm.

Steve felt far from alright but he didn't want to alarm the young woman and so he tried to convince her he was but his words came out in agonizing gasps.

"Yeah ... I'm ... alright ..."

As the words left his mouth, he shivered from the cold that the damp clothes were causing as they clung to his skin and as the bullet wound burned again, he arched his back and placed his right hand on it. Then reaching out he removed his gun from her shaking hands but as he did he started to cough as his lungs burned and the pain increased. He fell forward still clinging to Nancy's knee, right now the only thing close that wasn't slimy with mud that he could hang onto for dear life.

"Come on. Let's get you out of here." Nancy said, Steve's racking coughs dragging her from her shocked trance and spurring her into action. She could see he was in bad shape and knew she had to try and get him out of there. Putting his arm around her shoulders she tried to help him to his feet but he stumbled unsteadily as the loss of blood and fatigue took its toll and he landed back down in a heap in the mud, a hiss of excruciating pain leaving his lips and his face screwed up tight as he rode out the waves of pain. Nancy had stumbled with him and now knelt beside him and worried how she was going to get him some help.

Steve had heard the chopper land earlier and now looking up the embankment as the pain settled a little, pure relief lit up his face as he saw his partner come racing down towards them. Mike's face was grey with concern and as he reached them Steve knew he had to try to reassure him.

"I'm ... alright. " he lied as Mike arrived and he squirmed in the bed of mud that felt cold and uncomfortable underneath him.

Steve could tell by Mike's face that he didn't believe him as he eyed Steve up and down and Steve knew that he must look quite a sight after their cross country trail and between the scratches, muck and dirt he had picked up along the way.

Mike didn't like how Steve looked and glanced up at the young woman who was looking equally worried as she knelt by his side. As he caught her eye he asked casually.

"Are you the one?"

"No, not the one Sir. I'm Nancy Elizabeth Mellon." and she reached out and shook Mike's hand unexpectedly.

Steve glanced sideways at Nancy and smiled. She reminded him of another strong willed young woman he knew, who was also well able to look after herself and he wondered if Mike would also see the resemblance but Mike was too focused on his fallen partner and so quickly returned his attention back to Steve.

"Where are you hurt? Did you take a bullet?"

Steve nodded but before he could answer to tell Mike where he had been hit, another searing pain took his breath away and he suppressed the scream that threatened to escape as he then turned his face to one side and began coughing violently.

"He was shot in his lower back, on his right hand side." Nancy answered for him then added remorsefully" But he never said he was bleeding. We've walked for miles while he's been bleeding out!" She almost cried, as she realized that she had dragged him along the stream for miles while he had most likely struggled with the pain of every step.

Mike frowned when he heard that but wasn't really that surprised by his partner's bravado. The boy would never learn to speak up! Hearing Steve take another sharp intake of breath, he knew they had to get him to hospital as soon as possible. As a steady stream of the Sheriff's men came down the embankment, some went to take care of the two brothers while another raced over to where Mike was.

"How bad is he Lieutenant?" the young deputy asked.

"He's not good. He's lost a lot of blood."

"Well Sir, the Sheriff has summoned the Medevac Chopper. They'll be here soon. It's the quickest and safest way we can get him to the hospital."

"Thanks. Let me know as soon as they're here and can you please fetch me some blankets and a first aid kit please?"

The deputy nodded and rushed off to get the things Mike needed.

Steve's voice broke the silence that followed.

"Mike ... "

"Ok, ok take it easy buddy boy. Don't try to talk now. You need to save your strength. We need to get you out of this mud. There's a dry patch of grass over there. We need to move you over there until the chopper gets here ok? Can you walk with our help?"

"I don't know Mike. The pain's ... getting worse ..."

The fact that Steve even admitted that, set alarm bells ringing in Mike's head. Turning to Nancy he spoke.

"Can you help me get him over there please?"

Nancy smiled, glad to have been asked.

"Sure, I got it."

"You have huh?" Mike asked amazed by this spunky young woman who didn't seem deterred at all by the whole episode.

"Yeah .." she reassured the older man as between them they hauled Steve up from his mud covered resting place and got him over to the dryer area of grass just below the embankment. As soon as they lowered him onto the grass, Mike expertly turned him onto his left side and proceeded to pull up his shirt that was caked in mud to examine the bullet wound. The Sheriff arrived at their sides and informed them that the Chopper was only five minutes away and handed the first aid box to Mike while holding several blankets at the same time. Steve had remained way too quiet for Mike's liking since he had been moved but as soon as Mike tugged at his shirt he shot out his bloodied right hand and grabbed Mike's arm.

"Easy Mike, easy!" he begged almost in a pained whisper as the older man examined the entry wound, a small hole, oozing blood and caked in way too much dirt for Mike's liking.

"Ok, Steve. I'm sorry buddy boy but we have to clean this wound. It's covered in mud and you're soaked through. If we don't clean it,and get you out of those wet clothes you're going to be prone to infection or worse get pneumonia."

Then turning to Nancy he asked.

"How come he's soaked? Did he fall in the stream?"

"Yes ... a few times..."and Nancy's heart sank and guilt consumed her as she recalled the numerous times he had stumbled and she had chastised him for not keeping up.

Steve had starting shaking violently by this stage, his teeth were chattering and he was struggling to stay conscious. Mike feared that cleaning the wound would make the young man pass out as he could see that his partner was hanging on to consciousness by a thread. A quick check of his pulse found it slow and thready too. In that instant he wished the chopper would hurry up. He struggled with his choices but knowing an infection would be a worse fate than the temporary pain cleaning the wound would cause, he made his decision.

Retrieving a bottle of antiseptic from the first aid box, Mike glanced anxiously at Nancy who seemed to understand the implications of what Mike was about to do. She took a firm grip of Steve's left hand wordlessly as Mike fought back his emotions and poured the cleansing, antibacterial liquid over Steve's wound. The resulting pain caused Steve to buck involuntarily as Nancy felt his grip tighten around her fingers and Mike used his other hand to keep him still. As the seemingly endless torture continued, time seemed to stand still for Steve and as blackness started to close in around him the last sight he saw before his eyelids closed were Nancy's striking, blue, tear filled eyes looking at him full of sympathy and concern and the last sounds he heard were Mike's heartfelt words and the sound of another chopper approaching.

"I'm sorry buddy boy ... I'm really sorry. Hold on Steve. Please HOLD ON!"