*I DON'T OWN ANY OF THE OTGW CHARACTERS*

He carefully used the woodsman's axe to break up the many branches that were intertwined around his little brother. Once he was done Wirt dropped the axe and he desperately ripped at what bridle branches were left around Greg. The beast roared in frustration as it spoke to the woodsmen. It's bone chilling voice made Wirt tremble with fear, but that extra boost of adrenaline made him work even faster. Beatrice did her best to help, but there wasn't much she could do, she didn't have the strength of a human on her side. She stopped nibbling at branches and instead she flew over towards Wirt's shoulder and perched herself there so that she could keep a watchful eye on what was unfolding behind them. From what she could see the woodsmen was arguing with the beast. She shuddered just looking at the monster that was just a few feet away from them.

"There he's free," said Wirt, as broke the last branch that clung to Greg. He quickly ripped it off and hoisted his little brother and his pet frog onto his back.

"Come on Beatrice lets get…"

Before Wirt could finish his sentence a deep bellowing roar encompassed them and what light source was behind them was snuffed out. They would have been left in total darkness had it not been for the pale moon light. The roar turned into a stifling screech and Wirt ran for dear life. He felt Beatrice's talons dig into his shoulder and she changed positions so that she could face forward.

"Run Wirt!"

"Don't you see that's what I'm doing!"

"Well run faster!"

"Oh god, oh god, oh god!" Wheezed Wirt as he pushed himself to run faster.

He now wished he been more physically active back home. Staying inside playing his clarinet and reading his poetry books wasn't exactly helping him out much with his stamina, but it was amazing what fear could do to you, and with that fueling him Wirt was running the fastest he ever had. Suddenly a huge gush of wind side swiped the teenager and he almost lost his footing. Beatrice on the other hand was knocked off his shoulder. She spun around uncontrollably and she braced herself for a painful impact, but it never came. She opened her eyes to see that she was safely cupped in Wirt's hand. Some how he had caught her before she was sent spiraling out of control in the frigid air. He placed her inside the safety of his cloak as he continued to run. He felt her tiny talons as they clung tightly to his shirt. Beatrice quickly climb up his chest and she wiggled her head from underneath his chin.

"Thank you," Beatrice whispered.

She ruffled her feathers as she looked at the vast white valley in front of them. The wind was picking up and the heavy sheets of snow were making their situation dire. Within a few seconds their visibility faded and the bone chilling wind had no mercy on it's young victims. Wirt could no longer run and his body swayed from side to side as the winter wind controlled his every move. He tried to keep his bearings but it was impossible, and as he looked around he noticed that he was surround by a vast valley of pure white snow. He was lost and he had no idea which way to go. He decided to continue going forward, he was bound to run into something soon, but the minutes were dragging by and the storm was getting worse and worse. Wirt's teeth were chattering, and his face stung as bits of snow and ice grazed his face. The numbness in his limbs was growing more painful by the second, and the sensation of pins and needles began to spread over his feet and hands, but he had to keep going. His mix matched boots sank deeper into the snow as he blindly walked through the turbulent snow storm.

His little brothers weight was nothing for him handle, but the harsh weather was making it difficult for Wirt to keep him balanced, and so Greg's tiny body began to slide off his older brothers back. Wirt quickly hoisted his brother back up and Greg's pet frog weakly croaked as if signally him that his little brother was safely secured in position. Beatrice shivered and Wirt could feel her as she curled up and huddled closer to his throat. He was her only source of warmth and protection, and the weight of that responsibility hit him hard. Everyone's lives were in his hands now and he needed to think fast, walking aimlessly was just going to get them killed.

"Wirt…"

"It's alright Beatrice, I got this," said Wirt as he desperately looked around, but all he could see were thousands of snow flurries flying about.

He started to think about his surroundings when he had confronted the beast. He couldn't believe that he had called it's bluff, but all of that didn't matter now, especially if he couldn't find them shelter. If his memory served him right a large wooded area was on his right hand side when he was freeing Greg. The trees would at least provide some sort of cover from the storm. So with every bit of strength he had left Wirt changed direction and walked as fast as he could through the storm. Thankfully soon after changing coarse dark shadows came into view, they were trees. Wirt picked up the pace and to his relief he was able to make his surroundings out so much better now that he was in a dense wooded part of the forest. His eyes darted from side to side as he search for some sort of refuge. He kept telling himself that this shouldn't be hard, after all he was in the woods and animals had homes everywhere. He continued to walk when he noticed that his vision was getting blurry, that wasn't a good sign. Wirt quickly shook his head and continued his search. His heart quicken when he saw a small cave not far from him. He mustered up the last of his energy and with it he ran towards it.

In his haste he tripped over his own feet and he roughly crashed into the floor. A sharp shooting pain hit the side of his ribcage. It ripped his breath right out of his burning lungs and Wirt gasped as pain engulfed his thin frame. He had fallen on top of something that was hidden under the snow. The quick sensation of warmth gave him the indication that he was bleeding. He felt light headed as he curled up into a ball, he was freezing. The pain he was feeling was intense, but thanks to it he knew he was still alive. Beatrice panicked, the little bluebird had no clue what to do. She hopped around Wirt face as she screamed his name.

"Wirt! Are you hurt!?"

"..."

"Wirt!"

"..."

"Say something to me you big jerk! Begged Beatrice, but her pleas were left unanswered.

Wirt said nothing but Beatrice could see that he was clearly in pain. His eyes were tightly shut and his mouth opened as if he was gasping for air. In a desperate attempt Beatrice grabbed onto the collar of his cloak and pulled at it. Tears rolled down her feathered cheeks, being so small and insignificant was beyond frustrating especially when she couldn't help her wounded friend. Despite knowing that she couldn't move Wirt to the cave she continued to pull at the fabric, its all she could do. Suddenly she saw Wirt's eyes slowly open.

"Wirt are you ok?"

"No, but that doesn't matter. Where's Greg?" Asked Wirt as he did his best to place pressure on his side. He winced as soon as his hand came into contact with his fresh injury.

"He's right behind you."

Wirt turned around to see his little brother lying flat on his back. His chest was slowly rising and falling, and that in itself was a miracle. Wirt slowly got back up on his feet, his legs wobbled under his own weight, but he did his best to fight the urge to collapse. He cautiously bent down and picked up his little brother with his free hand. Greg's pet frog could see that Wirt was in bad shape and so he refused a free ride from the boy. Instead he hopped by his saying a word Wirt continued to make his way towards the cave. Beatrice quickly flew back up onto his shoulder, so that she could get a better look at him. He was starting to look pale. She turned around to see a thin trail of blood he was leaving on the fresh fallen snow behind him.

"Oh no, Wirt you're.."

"It's alright Beatrice, I'll take care of it when we get inside."

The way he was speaking to her concerned Beatrice. Wirt wasn't like this, he was always worrying and complaining, but to see him act so calm, especially when in such a dire situation, was odd and alarming. They reached the inside of the cave which was chilled to the bone, but at least there wasn't any harsh wind beating them down. Beatrice eyes widened when she got a good look at the entrance of the cave.

"Oh my god Wirt, of all the places to find you found this one," said Beatrice happily. She wasted no time in flying ahead of him and in a blink of an eye she was gone.

"Beatrice what are you talking about?" Asked Wirt as he limped inside. "It's pitch black in here, I can't see a thing, can you?"

"..."

"Do birds have like night vision or something, no they don't that's stupid, but wait, owls can see at night, but is that because their nocturnal?"

Wirt's nervous babbling was due to his current condition, he was in bad shape, but the feeling of Greg's warm breath on the back of his neck kept him from collapsing. Beatrice hadn't said a word and Wirt was starting to get concerned.

"Um Beatrice?"

She still didn't answer, instead a low growl came from the darkness that lay in front of Wirt. He stopped dead in his tracks as he listened.

"Oh man, leave it to me to choose a cave that has a man eating animal in it."

The growling continued and Wirt slowly started walking backwards, but part of him wanted to stand his ground, they would all die if they went back outside.

"Do I want to freeze... or... be eaten alive," stuttered Wirt in fear.

The sound of footsteps running towards him signaled that he had no time to make up his mind. He turned his battered body to the side shielding his little brother when he felt something jump on his hip. He naturally flinched, but once he noticed that he was taller then the mystery animal he turned around to see the same dog he and his brother had encounter near the mill a few days earlier.

"Wilbur you big idiot get off him scolded Beatrice."

"A dog...oh thank god it's just a dog, sighed Wirt in relief.

"Yeah sorry about that, he's our family dog. The big idiots name is Wilbur."

"Well I'm relieved, I thought we were goners for sure. Why didn't you say anything when I was calling for you? You almost gave me a heart attack!'

"I'm sorry I was just excited."

"Excited about what?"

"Here I'll show you, follow me."

Wirt followed Beatrice into the depths of the pitch black cave. This time the little bluebird stayed close so that Wirt wouldn't lose sight of her."

"Ok just wait right here," ordered Beatrice.

Wirt did as he was told, like he always did, and soon the dark cave was filled with the soft glow of a gas lantern. Beatrice had just turned it on and once she done she flew back over to Wirt's shoulder.

"I was so excited when we walked inside because I recognized where we were. You actually found one of my little brothers hideouts! I can't believe you actually pulled this off you big pushover," squealed Beatrice as she hugged the side of Wirt's face.

"Oh well it was nothing really I mean...wait….did you just call me a pushover again?"

"God you're dense, but I guess your current state is just making your behavior even weirder than usual."

Wirt flashed Beatrice an annoyed look, but she was right, he wasn't thinking right. He shook his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts.

"So your brothers hang out here?"

"Yeah they spend more time outside than they do inside, which further proves that they're a bunch of little animals," muttered Beatrice as she thought of all five of her brothers. "Anyhow they love to build little forts and hideouts using old caves or trees that have started to rot from the inside. Usually their little hangout areas aren't far from my home! They stock these these places up so they can spend the night here. That means we get essential stuff like a lantern, a pit to build a fire, blankets, and maybe even some beef jerky. All we need to do now is start a fire, but something tells me you have how no idea how to do that."

"Oh ye of little faith," said Wirt as he slowly knelt down so he could place Greg on a pile of blankets.

"Wait, place him with Wilbur," said Beatrice as she pointed at her sleeping dog.

"Just tuck Greg into his side. He loves kids and he's use to be a personal heater. He's usually with my brothers when they camp out, that must explain why he came here," sighed Beatrice.

She knew very well that Wilbur must have come here not only for shelter but also as an attempt to find her brothers. There was no way for the dog to understand why they were all bluebirds now, but at least he still recognized Beatrice's voice and scent.

"You know Wilbur is a safety measure my parents use when the boys want to spend the night outside. Our fearless guard dog here needs to be taken before they leave home."

"By your tone I'm guessing he's far from being a guard dog," said Wirt as he gently tucked his brother and his pet frog with Wilbur.

"Oh don't get me wrong, he means well, but he's just a big softy. Oh use one of those blankets to cover up Greg. He should be doing much better now that we're inside, and even more so when we get a fire going."

"Agreed, I'm freezing," said Wirt as he draped a blanket over his brother.

He then walked over towards the fire pit. He slowly started cleaning it out so that he could build a brand new fire.

"So you actually know what you're doing, right?" Teased Beatrice.

"Do you really think I'm that useless?"

"Hey you said it, not me."

"Beatrice...come on."

"Alright, calm down Mr. Sensitive, don't get all bent out of shape."

"I don't need your attitude right now," muttered Wirt, who was still in a lot of pain, so much so that he couldn't handle arguing with his feathered friend.

He silently continued working and Beatrice could tell that she had crossed the line. Usually Wirt would argue with her, but he clearly wasn't in the mood, nor was this the time to be giving him a hard time, but like always she had to ruin things. She sighed, she was disgusted with her behavior, and it wasn't the first time it had gotten her in trouble.

I'm sorry Wirt, I tend to be a jerk when I get scared, or worried."

Wirt glance over at Beatrice and she averted his gaze by looking down at the ground. He said nothing to her, and the silent treatment did not sit well with a few tense moments she looked back up at Wirt, who was still staring at her.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"The whole time we've been together you've been just as scared as I have, that is if what you say is the truth."

Beatrice's feathers ruffled and she huffed in frustration. She didn't like feeling vulnerable, but Wirt was right. She did her best to not lash out and instead she did something that she had never done before, she revealed how she really felt.

"You're right Wirt, I was scared, and I still kind of am."

"I would have never guessed you know, you've always seem like you know what you're doing."

"..."

"Look, Beatrice, we don't have to talk about this now, just help me out with the fire," said Wirt as he placed what he had gathered by the fire pit. He sat down with his legs crosses so that he could rest a bit, the side of his body was throbbing. He leaned back against the cave wall and he sighed.

"Thanks Writ, so what do you need me to do?"

"Well it looks like your brothers have plenty of logs and sticks here, but I need some tinder and kindling if were going to make a successful fire."

"Ok, I'm pretty sure they store extra tinder and kindling over in those boxes," said Beatrice.

She quickly flew towards the boxes that held her little brothers supplies. She peered inside several boxes until she found the one she was looking for. It had dry sticks, moss, pine needles, and pieces of bark inside it. She gathered as much as she could with her talons and she flew back with her cargo. She placed everything she had gathered in front of Wirt who was now inspecting his injury. He cautiously lifted his arm up so that he could get a better look, his shirt was soaked with blood that was now sticky to the touch. He sighed in relief when he noticed that he wasn't bleeding anymore. In order to keep him warm his body slowed down the blood flow to certain parts of my body. These were the first stages of hypothermia,but as crazy as it sounded this condition had saved him from bleeding out.

"Is it bad?" Asked Beatrice.

"It really hurts, I think I might of broken a rib or two, but at least I'm not bleeding anymore."

"You think you broke some of your ribs!? How in the world are you functioning right now?

"Endorphins, nature's morphine," lightly chuckled Wirt.

"You big idiot we need to patch you up."

"I'm alright for now Beatrice we really need to focus on getting this fire started. I'm experiencing the first stages of hypothermia and if we waste anymore time I won't be able to use my hands, and I need them if I want to build a fire," said Wirt as he slowly placed his arm back down.

"Well here's some tinder and kindling to get you started, I'll go get some more."

Without saying anything Wirt started to build a nest like structure out of the tinder. Beatrice continued to go back and forth and each time she came back Wirt was adding more and more into the fire pit. Finally he seemed satisfied with his work. He reached into his left pant pocket and pulled out a set of what look like keys. He went through them until he found something silver that wasn't a key at all. He unscrewed part of it and stuck it up against the side of the object.

"What is that?" Asked Beatrice as she hopped onto Wirt's knee.

"It's a permanent match."

"A permanent match, I've never seen anything like it before."

"Yeah well I've never given it much thought up until now that is. My step-dad gave it to me on our last camping trip."

"No offense Wirt, but you don't look like the outdoors type of guy."

"None taken,I'm definitely not a woods kind of guy, but my step-dad takes me out camping in an attempt to bond with me."

"You're step-dad?"

"Yeah, he's Greg's father," answered Wirt as he struck the side of the permanent match again. A spark flew into the little nest of tinder he had made. He carefully picked up the smoking nest of tinder and he gently blew into it. The smoke billowed out and soon a small flame emerged from within the bundle of dry materials. Wirt carefully tucked the tinder underneath the tepee of sticks he had built.

"Now this is a sight for sore eyes," sighed Wirt as he watched the fire quickly double in size.

"I can't believe it, you did!" Cheered Beatrice as she hopped around Wirt's knee.

"See you should have more faith in me."

"And you should thank your step-dad, if it wasn't for him you wouldn't have known how to start a fire."

"I guess you're right, I owe him big time," whispered Wirt as he thought of Greg's father. "I usually just read when we go on camping trips, but my mom insisted that I listen whenever my step-dad is trying to teach me something. I guess it's a good thing that I am pushover huh, if I hadn't done what my mom told me we would have probably frozen to death."

Beatrice winced when she heard Wirt refer to himself as a pushover.

"Look Wirt, I'm sorry about everything. I didn't mean to give you such a hard time on our journey together.."

"It's alright Beatrice, I've been a jerk too."

"No you haven't."

"Yes I have, I've been a total drag. I've been arguing with you, I've ignored Greg, and I've been a sorry excuse for a leader. All of my bad choices have lead us to where we are now. I mean all of this happened because of me being melodramatic. If I would have grown a backbone and just talk to Sara Greg and I wouldn't have gotten lost, and he wouldn't be at deaths door right now."

"Wirt."

"I'm a horrible person Beatrice," muttered Wirt.

"No you're not Wirt, I'm the horrible person!"

"..."

"I mean I turned my whole family into bluebirds because I let my temper get the best of me! I was arguing with my mother, like I always do, and I stormed out of the house while she was lecturing me. I was so furious at her, I just wanted to get away. I thought that being outside would help me cool off. I was sitting with Wilbur in front yard when a bluebird flew by. I don't why I did it but I threw a rock at it. I guess I couldn't stand the sound of its cheerful song, I just wanted to stay mad. Now my family is doomed to live as birds forever, and our curse is all my fault."

"You're curse," whispered Wirt as he looked down at Beatrice.

"Yeah I deserve what Adelaide did to me, but my family didn't."

Wirt carefully searched in his right pocket and pulled out the pair of gold scissors that had belonged to Adelaide.

"Here you go," said Wirt casually as he opened his hand revealing what was inside.

"You had the scissors the whole time!?"

"Well yeah, I mean I used them so Greg and I could escape Adelaide's. Once we were free I couldn't help but feel that you betrayed us, I was so mad at you Beatrice, that's why Greg and I took off."

"Wirt…"

"After we were separated everything started going downhill and once we were on the run from the beast I flat out forgot I had them, I'm sorry about that."

"It's alright you big idiot." sniffed Beatrice as tears ran down her feathered face.

"So how are these supposed to work?"

"Adelaide said that my wings need to be clipped off in order for me to become human again."

"Urgh, that's kind of morbid don't you think?"

"I think it's metaphorical, you know, a bird with clipped wings can't fly, just like a human can't fly."

"I don't know Beatrice, what if she was lying?"

"I'm willing to take that risk."

"So you really want me to clip your wings?"

"Yes."

"Alright then," said Wirt nervously.

"Come on Wirt don't get all queasy on me."

"I'm sorry, but, I'm not thrilled about mutilated my friend."

"It's alright, this is what I want, regardless of what happens."

"..."

"Please Wirt."

"Ok Beatrice," said Wirt as he placed his hand down by his knee.

She quickly hopped on and Wirt brought her closer towards his face. He held the scissors carefully and she gave Wirt a determined look as she spread opened both her wings. Wirt gulped nervously as he opened the sharp scissors. Beatrice felt the blades on her wing and she closed her eyes in anticipation.

"Do it."

Writ turned his head to the side as he closed the scissors. He heard them snap close and a muffled whimper from Beatrice. He winced as he turned his head further to the side, after a few silent seconds he mustered the courage to check on Beatrice. He cautiously looked in her direction and what he saw shocked him. Pieces of bright red yarn and ribbon were spilling out from her fresh wound. At first Wirt thought he was hallucinating due to the cold, and blood he had lost, but Beatrice was also in awe at what she saw.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know Wirt."

"Does it hurt?"

"At first it did, but now I feel nothing, hurry clip the other one."

"Alright," said Wirt as he clipped her last wing off.

Ribbon and yard seeped out again and both Beatrice and Wirt watched as it collected on Wirt's lap.

He strained his eyes as he watched what was happening, then it hit him.

"This looks just like the ribbon and yarn from Adelaide's house."

"You're right, but why is it coming out of me Writ!?" Asked Beatrice desperately. Fear laced her words, she was clearly terrified.

"It's alright...it's alright... calm down ok Beatrice?"

"How can I!? What in the world is happening to me?"

"Maybe... this is part of Adelaide's magic. She did say she was going to stuff Greg and mines heads with yarn so maybe she did the same thing with you when she turned you into a bird."

"So what happens when I run out of yarn and ribbon?"

"I….don't know."

Beatrice's breathing quickened but before she could say another word the ribbon and yarn started to wrap around her body. She watched as the threads of wool ran up her tiny body. She looked at Wirt for answers, but all he could do was watch. Soon she was completely covered and she was lifted off of Wirt's hand. At first he reached for her, but he hesitated. He wasn't convinced that what was happening to her was bad, and so he waited to see what would become of his friend. Soon shards of light began to leak out from holes in the yarn and the ball the encompass Beatrice began to spin. The light from inside grew brighter and brighter and the ball of yarn spun faster and faster. Writ had to look away, and close his eyes, the sheer power of the light was burning them. Suddenly he felt some weight on his lap. His eyes shot open at the sensation but before he could turn his head a pair of arms wrapped around his neck. Wirt instantly froze as he was loving embraced.

"Thank you Wirt, thank you so very much," whispered Beatrice as she snuggled her face into the nape of his neck.

Writ held his arms out awkwardly as Beatrice hugged him, but he wasn't able to keep them up due to his injury so he slowly brought his limbs back down to his sides. Beatrice felt Wirt relax and so she loosened her her grip on him and she slowly pulled herself away from his neck.

"Well aren't you going to look at me?"

Wirt would be lying if he said he wasn't the least bit curious and so he turned his head so he could get a better look at Beatrice. What he saw was a young woman with a freckled face that was surrounded by thick red locks of curly hair looking back at him.

"Beatrice?"

"Who else could I possibly be you big dork!"

"They worked, the scissors really worked."

"They sure did, I mean look I have hands again!" Beamed Beatrice as she wiggled her fingers in Wirts face."

"That's amazing, I can't believe the curse is lifted."

"Me either, and it's all thanks to you," said Beatrice as she playfully punched Wirt in the shoulder.

The two of them laughed but they stopped when a cold gust of wind made it's way inside their little sanctuary. Beatrice looked towards the entrance of the cave and she shivered as her body was exposed to the elements. She no longer had feathers to keep her warm. Chills ran up her spine and she looked back at Wirt to ask him if she could borrow his cloak.

"Hey Wirt can I please…

She stopped mid sentence because Wirt's flustered expression made her realize a big detail that she had failed to notice, she was completely nude. In that instant she felt her entire body heat up and her face blushed profusely. Wirt looked her over once, but he soon lost his nerve and pulled his attention to her face. Beatrice lost it when they were looking straight at each other and so she grabbed Wirt's hat and pulled it over his face. She held it in place as she used her other hand to hit him in the chest repeatedly.

"Don't look don't look!" Screamed Beatrice.

"I'm sorry...ouch Beatrice stop...I only looked once!"

"You aren't making things any better Wirt!"

"Alright I'm sorry just stop hitting me," pleaded the teenager.

Beatrice slowly stopped but she kept her hand clasped onto his hat. Wirt's right hand felt around the floor and when he touched one of the blankets he quickly pulled it up and it offered it to his very embarrassed friend.

"Here look put this on," said Wirt as he dangled the fabric in front of her.

Beatrice snatched it from him and pressed his hat harder into his face.

"Listen to me Wirt you better keep this over your face or so help me I'll break more of your bones," warned Beatrice.

"Alright I'm not going to look," reassured Wirt as he placed both his hands on his hat. "See I can't see a thing."

Beatrice didn't move her hand, but after a few tense moment she slowly let go of his hat. She rose from Writ's lap and he could hear her muttering to herself as she used the blanket to cover her exposed flesh.

"Let me borrow your cloak. This blanket covers me up, but it does little to keep me warm."

"Uh…. yeah sure you can borrow it... but I need to unbutton it and I really can't do that if…"

"I'll do it for you, so keep your hands where I can see them," ordered Beatrice.

"Alright alright, no need to get snippy."

Writ waited and soon he felt the buttons on his cloak being unclasped. He felt the chill of the air on his back once it was off. He could hear the sound of Beatrice draping herself with it and a few moments later she spoke.

"Alright you can take your hat off, but no gawking or staring alright Wirt?"

"God Beatrice, you make it sound like I'm a sicko or something."

"Well you were gawking at me a few seconds ago."

"What was I supposed to do, it was a natural response," said Wirt as he placed his hat back on his head. "I mean you were naked in my lap, and I mean I've never ever seen a girl….uh you know...and a really pretty one at that. Oh wait no that's not what I meant...I'm not saying you aren't pretty I'm saying you are and…"

"Oh god just stop talking," pleaded Beatrice as she covered her face. "Can we just forget that this happened."

"Yes, I think that's for the best," stuttered Wirt.

Beatrice blushed again but she did her best to push her feelings aside. She walked over towards him and sat by his side. Wirt looked over in the other direction and neither one of them spoke a word to one another. Beatrice was going to say something snarky but she changed her mind when she caught sight of Wirt's wound. It looked pretty bad, and now that she was human she could help patch him up. She took a deep breath in and let her anger subside, she couldn't hold a grudge against him, he was acting the way any boy would. Beatrice picked up a long tattered blanket from the pile her brothers had made and she carefully ripped a long strand from it. Wirt heard the sound of ripping fabric and he turned over to see what Beatrice was up too.

"What are you doing?"

"Hush and lift up your arm, I'm going to bandage you up."

Wirt obeyed and Beatrice gently wrapped the strip of blanket around his ribcage. She gently tied it at the ends and examined her work afterwards.

"It's nothing fancy but at least it will keep it from getting dirty. It's not too tight is it?"

"No it's not, thanks Beatrice, and I'm sorry."

"It's alright, I just over reacted, sorry if I hurt you."

"I'm alright, it's all good."

Beatrice slowly scooted herself closer towards Wirt. She draped the blanket she had used for his bandage over the both of them.

"So what are you going to do now? Asked Beatrice.

"I need to get Greg home, but I can't do that until this storm is over."

"Where is your home anyway?"

"I'm not sure but I have this strange feeling that I'm going in the right direction, like if no matter what I do, or what path I take I'll find my way no matter what. Does that sounds crazy?"

"I was a bluebird a few minutes ago, so no, that doesn't sound crazy to me at all."

"What about you?" Yawned Wirt.

"Well once we're able to leave I'm taking Wilbur with me and together we're finding the rest of my family. I can't wait to free them all. Once I do I'm making sure to give my mother the biggest apology ever," said Beatrice as she rested her head on Wirt's shoulder.

Wirt glanced over at the red head next to him, he couldn't believe that this was who Beatrice really was. Part of him was expecting to see the same little bluebird hopping around on his shoulder while scolding him about something, but now there was pretty girl with a feisty attitude resting by him. He gulped nervously, and in attempt to ignore his nervousness Wirt focused on the fire. They sat there side by side in the quiet of the cave. The warm glow of the fire started to dim a bit and Wirt started getting up so that he could feed the flames with more wood.

"It's alright I'll do it, you really need to take it easy."

"Thanks."

"It's the least I can do," replied Beatrice as she stood up and made her way towards the fire.

Her legs wobbled at first but she quickly regained her balance. It was going to take a little bit of time to get use to supporting her own human weight again. She had been a tiny little bird who'd been flying around for so long, but now she was her old herself again and she couldn't be happier. She smiled as she felt the cold floor underneath her warm bare feet, something that would have annoyed her before now almost brought her to tears. She quickly rubbed her eyes, she didn't want Wirt see her cry, then again he had already seen more of her then she ever thought possible. She pushed the embarrassing memory aside as she added large pieces of wood to the fire. She stoked it with a branch and after a few moments the fire was roaring once more.

"Hey Wirt what do you think happened to the woodsmen and the beast?"

"..."

"Wirt?"

"..."

Beatrice turned around around to check on him, and she smiled when she saw that he was fast asleep. She looked over at Greg who was also fast asleep. He looked beyond comfortable with her dog and pet frog, the rosiness in his cheeks was starting to come back, and Beatrice knew he was going to be alright. She then walked back over towards Wirt. She knelt down in front of him so she could get a better look at him. It was beyond clear that he was exhausted, and she couldn't blame him, he had been through so much. He had pushed himself to his breaking point so that he could make sure all of them were safe. It was strange really, she still couldn't believe that this awkward boy had done so much for them. He had saved her, he was her hero, and at that moment Beatrice gave Wirt the one that that every hero deserves, a kiss. It was a simple one and she planted it sweetly on his lips.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Wirt's eyes shot wide open as he floated around aimless in the river. He looked down and saw both his brother and his frog sinking deeper into the depths. Wirt swam as fast as he could towards them, he wrapped his arms around them and he kicked his legs rapidly as he made his way upwards. His lungs were burning, and he was on the verge of running out of breath, but some how he made it to the surface. He loudly gasped for air, and after regaining his breath he started making his way towards the shore. He put his brother back on his back as he crawled onto the muddy floor. The glow of flashlights and calls from his friends echoed in his ears. He reached out for help but he collapsed before they got to him. He remembered being soaked to the bone, and his body ached all over, but the one feeling that overpowered all of that was the sensation of a kiss that he still had on his lips.

A/N

Now for starters I need to address my current followers. I don't want any of you to think that this new fanfic means that I'm discounting my current fic Someone Else to protect. I won't go into detail here since this is about OTGW, but yes it is true that I was highly disappointed with Naruto's ending, however that doesn't mean I'm abandoning all the hard work I've devoted on my fic. It's currently in the works and it should be out before the holidays, so no worries.

Now then Over the garden wall actually filled a very big hole in my heart. It was so refreshing to watch such a brilliant little tale that had amazing storytelling elements in it, and i quickly fell in love. The entire series is one that has left such an impression on me, so much so that I started drawing and writing again. I honestly thought that I wouldn't be doing either of those things especially after current events, but thankfully I was wrong.

Now this story will be very close to canon. I added more interaction between Wirt and Beatrice in this first chapter because I felt their goodbye was far too short in the final episode, and I wanted them to have real closure. However everything else will stick to what we were given. An example would be the timeline in which OTGW takes place in. There is proof from clues in the last episode that point to the year being 1992. In my story I'm making Wirt 16 and lets just say I was a little around that age in 1992, so it's going to be so much fun reaching back into my childhood memories for source material. Also I will go more into detail on what the unknown is, however I won't spoil it here here, you'll just have to read to find out. Of course there will be romance between Wirt and Beatrice because their bond was the most apparent in the series, I ship them so hard ;3 Also the fic is staying pretty dark, just like series, but I won't go too far off since I'm rating this thing T, however it will change if I decided to go darker. Anyhow I don't update once a week, or anything like that, I'm a mother of two so yeah updating isn't always easy and as you can see I have another fanfic going as well, so yay I just made things harder for me :D Oh but its worth it I just had to get this story out there. Anyhow to make up for no updating often I write pretty long chapters so I hope you all are ready for that too :D So that's about it, I'm really excited for you all to read my take on what happens once Wirt and Greg leave the unknown.

Kat