A/N: Man, I've really missed writing for these two! I'm desperate for a reunion, but seeing as it hasn't happened yet I thought I'd write my own! I've been re-watching all of S1 and I've got some inspiration back for my missing scene story too, so hopefully I'll be updating that in the near future as well (fingers crossed!)
Anyway, don't hesitate to let me know what you think :)
The instant he sets eyes on her Mitch feels a wave of relief rush through him. It's taken two months, three failed attempts and a military helicopter to finally reach Jamie, but she's there, in the flesh, alive. He feels like he did the first time he heard her voice after the crash, after he'd spent four months mourning her at the bottom of a bottle in some dingy bar in the middle of D.C. He's practically bouncing in anticipation at the upcoming reunion, and he can't contain the grin that is currently plastered all over his face. He can hear Jackson laughing at him, even over the loud and incessant spinning of the rotor blades above them, but Mitch pointedly ignores him, choosing to focus instead on the woman that is waiting for them.
Mitch waits impatiently for Marzan to land the chopper in the field they'd identified as their best landing spot, and he sees Jamie smile and wave at them as she sits against an old, dilapidated barn. There's someone else sitting next to her as well, and Mitch presumes it's the Logan guy she'd warned him about. There's a thin layer of permafrost covering the floor, small icicles sparkling in the low afternoon sun, but Dariela still manages to touch down safely, with barely a skid or jolt to signify that they're back on solid ground.
As soon as Mitch jumps down from the chopper, the blades above him still whirring slowly to a halt as he exits, he spots Jamie struggle to her feet. He watches her pick up a makeshift crutch and hobble across to meet him halfway. He wonders, briefly, just how bad her foot is; she'd confided to him over the radio that she'd lost a toe, but there were bigger implications to that kind of injury. He decides, just as he reaches her and she flings her arms around him, the crutch lying forgotten on the frozen ground, that all that can wait for just a little while.
She's holding him so tightly that he's worried he soon won't be able to breathe, but Mitch can't find it in himself to really care.
He can hear her faint sobs in his ear and feel her breath on his neck and they're the only indications that he isn't actually dreaming all of this; that they really have just used a stolen military helicopter to land in some back water Canadian town to pick up their missing journalist and some random guy she'd encountered on the way.
"Hey," he eventually mutters into her hair, reluctant to move away.
"Hey," she replies, her lips brushing faintly against his throat as she speaks. "'Bout time you showed up…"
He chuckles then, and pulls away slightly, grinning down at her.
"Well you know," he starts, going for non-committal, the shrug and half-smile he gives her hiding the combination of nerves and sheer relief that he's feeling, "didn't want to seem too desperate, absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that…"
He accepts the smack to his chest with a burst of pained laughter and as much dignity as he can, but he's completely thrown when Jamie pulls him down for a hurried kiss. Sure, the others had figured it out about their relationship, but he'd never expected her to be so open about it.
He can just imagine the smug grin on Kenyatta's face.
Still, there are currently more important things to worry about than their friend's reaction, and so he concentrates on kissing Jamie back, trying (and probably failing) to convey just how much he'd missed her, how thankful he is to finally have her back. She tastes of dirt and sweat, nothing like the vodka and sweet airplane dessert from before. Mitch doesn't care though as he lifts his hands and cups Jamie's face, sweeping his thumbs gently across her cheeks, still in disbelief that she's right in front of him. He feels her tears against his skin and he wipes them away as he pulls her closer, accepts the invitation of her open lips, deepens the kiss; God he's missed her. Jamie's hands rest on his waist, fingers tightly clenched in his thick coat and Mitch takes a tiny step forward in a bid to get closer to her, afraid to let her go in case she disappears from his sight.
"Yo, Professor! Put her down, or pick her up, but just get her on the damn chopper! We don't have all day here!"
Mitch pulls away from Jamie's lips with a groan before he turns to glare at Dariela. Jesus, he'd thought Kenyatta would be smug, but it's nothing compared to the Ranger's expression.
"Who's that?" Jamie asks, leaning her head against his chest. She's panting slightly, her breaths coming out short, sharp and visible in the freezing February air. Mitch tries to hide his grin, a self-satisfied feeling passing through him as he realizes that he's done that to her, before he remembers to answer her question. He gestures casually at the pilot of the nearby aircraft.
"Dariela Marzan; US Ranger, new recruit, all round pain in the ass, Abe's… something," Mitch summarizes briefly. He sighs and drops a quick kiss on her forehead before he carries on. "And unfortunately she's right, we need to get you to the chopper and back to the base as soon as possible… we didn't exactly get permission to take that helicopter."
"Why Mitch, did you steal a helicopter just to come and get me?"
There's a mischievous twinkle in her eye, the same one he'd seen at the zoo when they'd been talking to Aspen, the same expression he'd seen cross her face before their first kiss.
"Our plane was too big to land here," he says by way of explanation, before realizing, upon seeing her confused expression, that Jamie doesn't know about the plane. "Oh yeah, we have a plane now. A really big one. It's cool."
"I'll take your word for it," is all she says by way of reply, and Mitch figures that Jamie is probably not going to be air travel's biggest fan.
Mitch bends down then, picks up her crutch and passes it over. Jamie slots it under her arm then throws her other one round his waist, clearly intent on using him for support as they move towards the chopper. Her new friend is already strapping himself in and both Jackson and Abe help lift Jamie into the helicopter as the blades start to spin with more ferocity. She hugs both of them tightly in greeting before sitting down and strapping herself into one of the seats.
Mitch takes his place next to Jamie, another grin on his face that only gets bigger as she reaches out and links her fingers with his own for the duration of their flight.
40 minutes later and they finally arrive back at the small military base where Trotter had landed the plane a few hours ago. Jackson radios ahead to let their pilot know that they'll be ready to depart whenever he's ready. As soon as they're back on solid ground Mitch helps Jamie down from the helicopter and assists her in moving towards the giant plane.
The vehicle bay ramp is down and Mitch can see Chloe pacing impatiently at the base of it. Her face lights up as Dariela, Abe and Jackson round the side of the plane, but it's nothing compared to the smile Mitch can see when her eyes land on Jamie. A few seconds later and Mitch is partially shoved out of the way to allow the Frenchwoman to fling her arms round her friend. He stumbles back slightly but manages to maintain a hold on Jamie, and she flashes him a quick smile in thanks over Chloe's shoulder as she returns the hug with equal enthusiasm. Chloe releases her after a few seconds and immediately starts talking about their next destination, what they're going to do with Logan and how she's so, so happy that Jamie's back safe and sound.
It takes Chloe a couple of moments to realize that Jamie isn't really listening and Mitch only shrugs at the other woman, a silent signal that he'll bring Jamie along as soon as he's able. Chloe merely nods and heads off to join Jackson and the others, her heels clicking loudly as she heads across the tarmac.
"You weren't kidding," Jamie mutters from beside him, her gaze finally seeming to take in the magnitude of their new mode of transportation.
Mitch spots the others disappearing into the vehicle bay and out of sight, but Jamie hesitates as her foot hits the bottom of the ramp, clearly reluctant to step on-board the large aircraft. It doesn't surprise him in the least; it had taken a couple of minutes of concentrated deep breaths before he'd followed Eleanor onto the plane the first time after all. (He can still hear the screams in his nightmares, pain and fear wrapped around the twisted screech of metal as it rips apart…)
"Jamie," he says, getting her attention, and he waits until her eyes land on his before he continues, voice quiet and reassuring. "It'll be okay. I'm right here, we're all right here."
He reaches down and lightly touches her hand, his fingers gliding over her palm before linking with hers. The touch seems to give Jamie a little bit of confidence and she nods, shifts the crutch under her arm again and makes her way up the ramp.
They make their way through the small corridors of the plane, Mitch careful not to push Jamie to move too quickly; it's apparent that her injury is causing more pain that she's letting on and he's determined to look it over as soon as she's settled. He gives her a quick tour as they head towards the main staircase, pointing out the kitchen in the distance and the cockpit at the far end of the lower deck. She seems impressed with the lab, and he senses she has a multitude of questions about what's happened since that fateful day in September, but Mitch watches her take a breath, shake her head and carry on. The questions can wait, he guesses; there are more important things to do right now.
They spot Jackson and the others on the upper deck, already retreating to the sleeping quarters. The lot of them are exhausted after their busy day; rescuing Jamie had been the final part of a very long and convoluted puzzle that had started long before dawn. Now, in the cold mid-afternoon, the team were obviously flagging; shoulders visibly sagging and conversations reducing slowly to monosyllabic questions and responses.
Trotter's calm voice comes over the intercom to tell them that they're about to take off so Mitch quickly leads Jamie into the kitchen and sits with her while the plane takes off and climbs steadily to their cruising altitude. He notices that her right leg is bouncing up and down with nervous energy, so he carefully stands up and retrieves a small bottle of water from the fridge, throwing it at her gently to take her mind off their ascent into the clouds.
"Thanks," she mumbles quietly, hands twisting the cap off, and Mitch tries not to stare too closely at the way her throat moves as she swallows the cool liquid.
He moves to sit next to her, allowing Jamie her space but within reach if she needs him for anything. She's had a hard time of it he knows, and he's not sure how she'll react to being back amongst them; it had taken him and the others months to attempt to slot back into normal society, and even then they'd bickered and fought at every opportunity and eventually had had to spend time away from each other. Their experiences out in the world, in pursuit of Reiden and the cure, had changed them and Mitch isn't sure it's been entirely for the good. Still, he tries to put it from his mind and instead refocuses on the woman to his right.
Jamie seems calmer now that the plane's levelled out. Mitch can see spots of blue sky in between the patches of cloud through the nearby window and it's reassuring; there have been no known bird sightings at this height so their journey should be uneventful. It still seems strange, on some level, that bird attacks on aircraft are something he has to take into consideration in the new world.
Next to him, Jamie's leg has stopped tapping with nerves and Mitch takes the opportunity, while she takes another drink of water, to look her over properly for the first time. He eyes her warily, concerned to see scratches and cuts across her skin from her adventures in the Canadian wilderness. There are traces of blood and dirt smeared over her forehead, and pieces of leaves and debris litter her hair and clothing. He wants to question her about everything, wants to know every little detail about the events that have occurred since they were separated, but Mitch knows there'll be a time and a place; she'll speak to him when she's ready.
He just doesn't like the fact that she's so quiet. It's disconcerting and, quite frankly, worrying.
"You okay?" he finally asks, after long minutes of silence. His gaze is fixed firmly on a bunch of bananas on the nearby table, their bright yellow color making them stand out against the sleek grey metal of the kitchen.
"Yeah," she nods, eyes darting around her. "It's a lot to take in. This is all ours?"
"Yup. Some mysterious third party passed it on as a gift. We're still not entirely sure who, but Chloe's got suspicions that Delavane is back on the scene - he's been missing for months but who knows."
"It's impressive," Jamie proclaims quietly, but offers no further comment.
"That it is. I can give you the full tour tomorrow if you want, but I figured you could use some rest? And maybe a check-up?"
He waves vaguely at her foot and Jamie's gaze follows his, a frown on her face as if she'd forgotten all about it.
"Yeah, that's probably a good idea. Logan and I, well, we didn't really have adequate medical facilities out there."
Mitch doesn't reply straight away, just sighs quietly and tries to clamp down on the anger he feels at the knowledge that if they'd just waited a few minutes longer and rescued her on that first attempt, then Jamie wouldn't have lost a toe, been stuck outside for weeks and nearly died. Again.
Instead, he glances around the kitchen, gestures towards the fridge and the bowls of fresh fruit that adorn the tables.
"Do you want any food? Something else to drink?"
Jamie shakes her head.
"No, no, I'll be fine with water. I just want some sleep," she admits. "I'm sore and tired; I can eat later."
"Sure, no problem," Mitch says, and he stands up and offers her a hand. She accepts and he pulls her up carefully, mindful of her injured foot. They move out of the kitchen and Mitch leads her towards the stairs.
It's a slow process getting to the upper deck, but Mitch refuses to embarrass Jamie by picking her up and claiming she needs help. He knows her well enough by now to understand that if she's struggling she'll tell him; she's no longer too proud to ask for help when she needs it.
They move carefully towards the back of the plane and the sleeping quarters. Mitch holds the door to the area open as Jamie slips carefully under his arm and rests once she's on the other side, taking in her surroundings.
There are a number of doors leading to the bedrooms set out in the open plan space, three on each side of the area and one at the back. Jamie looks slightly overwhelmed at the sight, clearly not knowing where to start.
"We set up a room for you," Mitch explains then, waving at a door further down the right hand side of the quarters. "It's right next to mine."
"I see." Jamie raises her eyebrow at him, a small smile on her face.
"Hey, I didn't plan it that way," he mutters as he raises his hands in self-defense, trying hard not to blush because he's not 14 anymore damn it. "Jackson, Abe and Marzan shotgunned the rooms over there," he points to the other side of the sleeping area, "and Chloe took the master." He points to the door at the back. "Although I have to say," he continues, sotto voce despite the fact they're alone, "Jackson seems to spend more time in there than his own room…"
Jamie laughs and smiles before turning and looking up at him.
"Come on then neighbor, show me the way. I could really do with sitting down again right about now."
Mitch smiles in return and leads her down the corridor, stopping outside the middle door on the right hand side of the area.
"This is you," he comments, almost unnecessarily. "And that's me," he continues, pointing to the next door up.
"Excellent."
Jamie pushes the door open without hesitation and hobbles inside the room. Mitch lingers in the doorway, unsure if he should follow her inside without an explicit invitation. He runs a hand through his hair, ruffles it, adjusts his glasses. He waits for a couple of seconds, before he opens his mouth to ask if he's okay to enter the room.
"Don't be an idiot Mitch, of course you can come in."
She isn't even facing him and she can read him like a book. Mitch rolls his eyes and steps inside with an exaggerated sigh.
The room is almost identical to his own, apart from the fact that the desk and spare surfaces in his are littered with text books, research and dirty laundry while the wooden furniture in Jamie's room is bare.
Mitch watches as Jamie slumps onto the bed, a look of relief and happiness passing over her face at the longed for comfort.
"You should, uh, you should probably change out of your clothes before you get the blankets dirty," Mitch suddenly says, before slapping his forehead, grateful that Jamie currently has her eyes closed. 30 seconds in her room and he's trying to get her out of her clothes? Pathetic.
Instead of a comment or a shout of anger though, Mitch merely gets a soft pillow to the face and a grunt of annoyance from the woman lying on the bed.
"I'll pay for the laundry expenses later," she says, leaning back into the mattress. "I'm dry at the moment and I'll dig out something to sleep in in a second. Just let me enjoy this for a bit won't you?"
"Okay," he comments, unwilling to start an argument because in all honesty a couple of dirty blankets are really not worth it in the end. "Do you want me to check out your foot now? Before you sleep?"
Jamie peers up at him, a warm smile on her lips.
"That'd be great Mitch, thank you."
"I'll, uh, I'll go and get the first aid stuff from the lab. There should be a couple of things for you to change into in the drawers if you want."
With that he leaves, making sure he pulls her door to just in case she does decide to change in the time it takes him to pop down to the lab and back up again. He passes Abe as he makes his way to the staircase and the other man smiles at him before speaking.
"Is Jamie okay?"
Mitch nods, fingers tapping idly against the metal railing as he talks.
"She's fine, settling in alright I think. She's exhausted though. I'm going to check her over before she hits the hay," he explains, gesturing first to the sleeping quarters behind him and then to the lab downstairs.
Abe tilts his head to look at him, then smiles again and places his large hand on Mitch's shoulder in friendly support.
"I'm glad she's back Mitch," he finally says, "and I'm glad she has you here to watch over her; Jamie is a lucky woman."
Mitch huffs, unsure of what to say. He's pretty sure Jamie isn't lucky per say, but she seems to be happy for them to be… whatever it is they are right now, so he's content for that reason alone.
"We'll see," he comments before Abe nods, smile still as broad as it was before, and leaves him be. Mitch watches the other man's larger frame disappear into the meeting room before he heads downstairs to retrieve the first aid kit.
He's back outside Jamie's door a few minutes later, first aid kit slung over his shoulder and a few extra items in his hands. He's unsure of just how bad Jamie's foot will be, so he's erred on the side of caution and brought everything possible.
Mitch knocks on the door quietly, unwilling to wake Jamie if she's already fallen asleep, but almost instantly he hears her telling him to come in.
He can see that Jamie's sitting up, her back against the headboard, right leg tucked underneath her and her left stretched out in front. She's donned a large blue shirt and some long black pants instead of the dirty clothes that are now piled on the floor at the foot of the bed. She's obviously visited the bathroom quickly too judging by the lack of mud and blood on her face, and her hair is less all over the place as if she's managed to locate a brush in the short time he's been away. She's bundled the top blanket into a pile by the wardrobe and has apparently fetched a clean one from somewhere else. Mitch immediately spots the dirty, bloody bandage wrapped round her left foot. He swallows and tries not to worry. They'll deal with whatever they find under there; they have to.
"Hey, how you doing?" He asks as he steps over the threshold.
"I'm good," she replies, although she fights to hold back a yawn as she speaks. She holds a hand over her mouth and looks at him apologetically. "All this comfort is making me sleepy."
"You'll be off to sleep soon, I promise. You'll find I'm very quick, I'll be finished in no time," Mitch states, before wincing at how his words could be interpreted. He realizes he's not really endearing himself to any kind of relationship; it's been so long since he's done this.
"Oh I'm sure you take your time when you need to," Jamie comments, eyebrow raised coyly in suggestion, and just like that balance is somehow restored. Mitch breathes a sigh of relief because she is a good 15 years younger than he is and if he's not careful she'll end up being the death of him. He chooses not to comment and instead sits down next to her on the bed, dumping the medical supplies onto the blankets in the process.
He gives her a tetanus shot first, just in case, and he chuckles at Jamie obvious dislike of needles. Still, she doesn't complain, just grumbles a little as she lowers the sleeve of her shirt.
She shifts around a little when he asks, his hands carefully lifting her foot to place in his lap. Any other instance and this could probably be viewed as quite a romantic gesture, but Mitch pushes the thought aside for a later date and instead concentrates on the task ahead of him.
"This is probably going to hurt. A lot." He confides, looking up at her sympathetically while he reaches for her bandaged foot.
"I know. It's okay."
"How does it feel right now?"
He starts to slowly unwrap the bandage, careful not to jostle her foot more than necessary.
"Sore," she admits. "Kinda weird as well. Y'know, not having anything there. And I keep losing my balance if I don't use the crutch." She pauses, sighs, gestures towards the bandage. "I miss having a big toe to wiggle too. God, that sounds so childish…"
"It'll take you a while to get used to it," Mitch states, as he continues with his task, the bandage unravelling more and more with each careful roll of his wrist. "Your body uses your big toes for balancing about 40% of your total weight; it'll take some time for it to adjust. But, you could always get a prosthetic in the future if you wanted, I'm sure we could arrange something. Whatever you decide, it shouldn't affect your ability to walk or run in the long term."
Jamie looks like she's about to reply, but at that moment he finally pulls off the last of the bandage and she gasps instead as she takes in the blood and dirt that covers her foot.
It looks, thankfully, worse than it probably is.
Mitch places a towel under her foot and starts to clean it gently, careful not to put any unnecessary pressure on the wound or the surrounding area. All the while he keeps an eye out for signs of infection; it's his biggest worry knowing the environment in which she'd lost her toe.
"It looks like it was cut clean off," he mutters, more to himself than to her.
"Yeah, Logan did a good job with the axe."
Mitch looks up in surprise at that, shock written on his face.
"An axe?!"
Jamie laughs, despite the circumstances.
"Yeah, he chopped it off with a small fire axe. Don't worry," she says, obviously trying to allay his worries, "we tried to sterilize it as much as we could beforehand in a fire."
"Jesus Jamie! This… this could have been so much worse," Mitch utters frantically, looking over at her in concern. He takes a deep breath, panic threating to overtake him as worst case scenarios rush through his thoughts. "You could have… could have lost the whole foot, or got an infection, or suffered from septic shock, or even di…"
She suddenly leans over, despite the awkwardness of her position, and cuts him off with a kiss, and Mitch wonders if he's destined to be constantly interrupted mid-sentence by her in this way. He can't find it in himself to complain.
When she breaks away after a second or two he feels his panic subside and he watches her carefully, a shocked expression still visible on his face.
"I'm okay Mitch, honestly. I survived and I'm back and now you're here to help me. I wouldn't trust anyone else."
Her hand reaches for his again and he squeezes her fingers briefly before he carries on cleaning the rest of the area. It's red and the poor cauterization of the wound is weeping slightly, but Mitch is sure that those issues can be resolved with a strong course of antibiotics and a little bit of minor surgery to seal everything more precisely.
He relays this to Jamie, who nods in understanding.
"That's fine," she says, looking up at him and smiling. "Just tell me where and when and you can do what you need to."
Mitch hums as he considers their options.
"I'll have a look at it first thing tomorrow and we can make a decision then. You don't need an emergency operation, but it's probably best to do it as soon as possible. We can probably do it in the lab; I've got all the equipment we need there, and it's not as if we can just pop to the local hospital right now."
There's too much danger in landing and waiting in one place too long, what with Davies still hot on their heels.
He continues to clean the wound in the meantime, as Jamie chatters about the details of her stay in New Brunswick, about how she looked after Felix and how the kind man had saved her life. Mitch adds some antiseptic cream to the wound just as she's telling him about the scar on her thigh from the crash, and he quickly passes Jamie some strong antibiotics to stave off any latent infection, which she swallows using the remnants of her bottle of water.
Mitch finishes wrapping her foot in a clean bandage and clears away the rest of the supplies before sitting on the edge of her bed awkwardly. Jamie looks half asleep already, eyes drooping closed and a content smile on her face; clearly the meds are kicking in. She's somehow managed to bury herself under the blankets while he's been packing away the medical kit and she looks snug. He peers down at her and smiles at how comfortable she looks now, the soft material of the blanket pulled up to her chin, the deep red shade a stark contrast to her pale skin.
Mitch slaps his thighs in an attempt to get himself going and he stands, hefting the first aid kit over his shoulder again and moving towards the bedroom door.
"Well, I don't know about you but I'm exhausted. I'm just gonna…" He stops and waves vaguely at the door, as if it's capable of finishing his sentence.
"Mitch."
He turns back to Jamie at the sound of her voice, frowning slightly.
"Yeah?"
"Stay?"
He sighs and sweeps a hand through his hair again.
"Jamie, I don't think…"
"Please Mitch," she pleads, her voice suddenly small in the quiet of her room. "I just, I really don't want to be alone right now."
He pauses, weighs up the pros and cons of the situation.
"Uh, yeah, okay. If it's what you want…"
"It is," Jamie admits, smiling up at him from her blanket cocoon. "I've missed you Mitch."
"I missed you too."
It surprises him how easy it is to admit it to her, and the look on Jamie's face is reward enough for being honest despite his fears and anxiety about talking about his feelings.
Decision made, Mitch dumps the medical kit next to the desk and shoves his hands in his pockets as he looks down at Jamie who's still tucked up in the blanket. He shifts uncomfortably then, unsure of what to do. Does she want him to sit in the chair in the corner? Or to lie on the bed? In the bed?
"Mitch, just get under the damn blanket with me," Jamie finally says, a look of exasperation on her face but a joking tone in her voice. He laughs because he can't help himself.
"Yup, okay, on it."
He slips off his shoes and wanders cautiously to the edge of the bed. Jamie unravels herself in the meantime and lifts up the edge of the blanket in invitation. He slips in beside her, revels in the soft comfort of the bed and the heat of Jamie herself.
It's a bit weird.
He hasn't slept next to someone in a bed for years. At least, not someone he's actually cared about. He fumbles around, takes off his glasses and places them on the night stand and lies on his back, hands resting on his stomach and eyes fixed on the ceiling. He's almost too afraid to move. He listens to the now familiar hum of the plane's engines as they travel towards Cuba. Mitch finds that he can't switch off his brain just yet, his thoughts too busy trying to think of their next move against Davies and Reiden, of how he's going to help the woman next to him, how he's going to explain to Jamie precisely how he feels about her before he loses her again…
"Stop thinking," Jamie mumbles, voice thick with the sleep that's threatening to take her. "Come here."
She reaches over under the blanket, grabs his hand and links their fingers together. He feels her twist slowly against him, feels the scratchy material of the bandage as she tries to carefully maneuver her leg so that it rests against his while being mindful of her injured foot.
It takes a few seconds but eventually Jamie seems comfortable, her right hand linked with his left, her right leg swung over both of his and her head resting on his chest.
Mitch peers down at her again and smiles, but doesn't say anything. Her weight is comfortable against him and he decides at that precise moment that he could very well get used to this.
They're quiet. The room is silent apart from the whir of the engines and their steady breathing as they both try to get to sleep.
"Thank you."
Her voice still manages to startle him slightly after so long being peaceful. He looks down at her, curled against his side. Jamie hesitates and Mitch feels her swallow against his chest before she continues. "Thank you for, for coming to fetch me. For looking for me." Another pause. Another swallow. A tight squeeze of his hand. "Thank you for not giving up on me Mitch."
"You don't need to thank me Jamie," he replies sincerely. "I knew you were out there somewhere. I wasn't going to stop until I… until we got you back. We lost you once. Never again."
His words seem trite in the peace of her room, and Mitch remembers the panic of the last few weeks, the uncertainty of not knowing if she'd survived out in the wild threatening to pull him deeper into the depression he'd fallen into after the crash. But, he means them, every single one, and he sweeps his right hand through her loose hair and drops a kiss to the top of her head as if to emphasize his point.
Jamie presses a soft kiss on his chest in return and squeezes his fingers before finally, finally drifting off to sleep.
Mitch soon follows her, comfortable and entirely happy for the first time in months.