3:30 PM

When Charlie let go of a adrenaline filled breath, she could see it forming into a little cloud in front of her. Now the car was cooling down at an alarmingly fast rate, she could feel the cold creeping in. The light outside had begun to change. The pale wintersun that had been visible not too long ago, an orange circle hanging above the tree tops, had been almost gone.

She could still feel the adrenaline raging through her body, and her heartbeat was still far from normal. Now the car had come to a sudden stop in deep snow next to the road and under the trees, there was nothing but an almost muted silence around them.

Bass looked out of the window. It was getting darker out there, it was close to nightfall. The intensity of the snow increased and with that the urgency he felt to get them both to some, any, kind of safety.

Bass got rid of his seatbelt and turned in his seat towards Charlie, who was staring out of the window, the shock of what just happened still present on her face.

'Hey', he said in a low tone, 'you sure you are okay?' he let his eyes go over her slender frame, assuring himself she really was fine.

Genuine concern was written on his face and in his blue eyes, that had a different colour in this strange pastel white light. For a moment Charlie got lost in the deepness of his gaze before she started to speak again.

'I told you already, I am fine,' Charlie assured him, with a faint smile, while her mind told her the exact opposite. The car did not start, the cold was already starting to cut through her like little knives, they were in the middle of nowhere and the silence around them in this forest was almost eerie now daylight was starting to fade. Okay, maybe she was not as fine as she wanted him to believe.

While Bass was automatically forming a strategy, his thoughts practical and fast, he forced himself not to think about memories that came flashing through his mind. He did not allow himself to go back to that one day while his hands rested again on the steering wheel.

'Damn it,' Bass cursed, while he tried to restart the car. The damn thing would not start again, which meant no way out this mess and no warmth.

His attention went back to Charlie, sitting so close next to him. He could see her breath coming out like little puffs of air.

He tried to restart the car. Again. And again. He came to the realization that it was time for plan B. He reached for his phone in the back pocket of his jeans. No reception. Charlie tried the same, but with the same disappointing result.

He always had some blankets in the trunk of the car, a flashlight, some water. Basic supplies. Outside the car they could hear the wind getting stronger.

The wind was playing with the snowflakes and instead of a slow decent down from the sky, the snow started to go more horizontal through the air around them.

They were not far from the road, but Bass realized quickly that when another car would spin off that road, they were in danger. They could not stay here.

He did not want to leave the car, but without the possibility to keep the engine running every now and then to give the car a boost of warmth and with the possibility of the danger of somebody else crashing into them he felt like they had no choice. He knew he was taking one hell of a risk, with another glance at Charlie, but they had to find some kind of sheltered place to make it through this snow storm.

'What do we do, Bass?' Charlie asked.

'We can't stay here,' Bass answered, his eyes narrowed while he looked in front of him, 'the car is cooling down already way to damn fast. Our best chance now is to see if we can find some cabin or other place nearby to see this through.'

Charlie looked at his face. For the first time she saw a different side of Bass. His jaw line was locked with tension and although she heard how he had a soothing low calmness in his voice, by the look in his eyes, she knew they could be, or maybe already were, in serious trouble.

'I am going to grab our things out of the trunk, let's see if we can find something useful in there to take with us all right?'

He pushed the car door open and was back moments later, crrying bags in his hands. They quickly decided what to take, choosing two bags to take basic supplies with them. Bass had also grabbed the blankets, water, more cloathing and flashlight out of the trunk.

Charlie was almost done with putting all the things that could come in handy into her bag, when somehow one of her bra's she had packed for the trip, the purple one with the panties that belonged with them, almost fell out of her back. She was sure she was blushing when she casually tried to push them back deeper into the bag like nothing happened, and she was also sure Bass had noticed.

Bass mind was focussed on the task at hand, but when he saw the lace of some very interesting purple panties and bra he got distracted. Damn it again. Thinking about her body in that purple pairof panties and bra, was not going to get them through this. Thinking about touching that lace with his tumb while he would be between her long legs and his mouth would cover her skin, taste her bit by bit while her body was close under his, would most certainly not get them through this. But hell.

He let his hand go through the curls on the back of his head.

Bass shoved the bottle of whiskey he had taken with him with his other stuff.

'Can't hurt, right?' he gave her a fast wink, which seemed to make him look even younger.

Charlie knew he was about the same age as Miles, maybe a little bit younger. But his face and body did not give that away.

For the second time within the same minute she was sure she was about to blush. She had not missed the obvious flirting tone in his voice. She had once laughed at the infamous stories Miles had told her about Bass and his successes with 'the ladies', which were of course Miles exact words.

It was usually that point of the evening when her mother had left the room with a small sigh and a hint of disapproval in her eyes. Charlie had never cared about her mother leaving. That meant there was only more room for Miles' great stories. She would curl up even more, laughing with her head tilted back as Miles was more than willing to tell her about his best friend.

But now she was the one he was doing some flirting with, and she saw what he could do with one simple look and smile, it hit something within her. Miles told her all about Bass and she always shook her head at the stories. The casual and easy way he had just woken up something inside of her told her that maybe Miles had been right.

She told herself to focus on surviving, not on the easy on the eyes guy sitting next to her that had made her stomach swirl with a simple gesture.

When their bags were packed and they were ready to leave the car Bass noticed how Charlie was rubbing her hands and without even putting any thought in it, he took her slender hands between his larger hands.

'Hey, we will get through this.' His voice managed to reach her with warmth in the cold car.

Charlie felt the touch of his hands around her fingers, and she felt how her hands disappeared between his. She only nodded. She was not sure if the sudden contact of his hands wrapped around hers left her without any other choice. Forming words into a complete sentence was a difficult task right now, and not only because of the cold and chillness inside the car.

'Let's go,' he nodded towards the outside of the car, before they both grabbed whatever they could take with them and left the car. The snow, icy cold and the wind going through the forest, hit them both right in the face the moment they left the car behind.

When Charlie looked up, the chaos of the dancing snowflakes above her made her dizzy.

Bass was at her side, throwing an arm around her shoulder when they started walking. When Charlie looked back after a while, the car was completely out of sight. Only trees, silence and snow were surrounding them.

4:30 PM

Charlie had been surprised by how fast her body was going numb. She had been surprised by how heavy her legs were feeling while she tried to work through the rising blanket of snow under her feet. Her bag felt impossible heavy on her shoulders.

And although Bass had made her cover up the skin of her face as much as she could with her scarf, the snowflakes had turned into little needles that kept attacking her skin in a nauseating way.

Meeting Bass on campus this morning and the light but somehow still energized energy between them had seen so far away already.

When time had progressed she had started to stumble on more than one occasion. Rocks and tree roots were hidden under the snow as invisible obstacles.

'I know it is hard, Charlie, but try to focus on where you place your boots.' His voice had been close to her ear, when he had turned his body towards her, his face close to her to see the little lines close to his eyes.

Bass had kept on pushing her to keep on going, and it had been his strength, his will to move on that had made her keep on going.

When she stumbled for the third time she had felt how Bass grabbed her hand and helped her find her balance again. He had been leading her since then. Although she was not the kind of woman who took help easily, she had let him.

Bass had watched her struggle, but he knew there was only one option. Keep on going. They had left the car behind, and he was losing track of time fast. One look on his watch told him they were walking for almost an hour and he knew time was ticking away. So he grabbed her hand, and was determined to keep on going with her smaller hand in his.

A little while ago they had found a wooden signpost, which Bass had cleared with his sleeve, and a mailbox close to the road had been giving them some sign of civilisation nearby. The snow was disorienting them both, and he was not sure how long they would last out here. Charlie found a path leading away from the signpost, and her only hope was that something was out there fast.

Charlie was not sure how long they had been walking or in which direction they were going. The weight of her bag was pushing her down with every step. Bass was focussed on following the path buried under the snow, and she tried to do the same.

'Look,' Bass said with some extra force in his voice to reach her, while he pointed to his left. His voice got lost somewhere in the blizzard around them.

Charlie followed his hand , finding it hard to keep on focussing from the spreading cold and the snowflakes on her eyelashes. She finally saw something appear through the wall of snow.

A small cabin, completely made of wood, with small windows and a chimney was covered between the trees. There was a dense layer of snow resting on the cabin's roof. The trees around it were high, their tree tops reaching high in the sky. Charlie let out a painful aching breath. She thought she felt relieve, but she was too tired to care anymore.

When Bass reached the front door, he growled with frustration when he realised it was locked. One look at Charlie's face told him there was no more time. They had to get fucking inside. Now. So he used his whole body with forceful strength to crash open the door. After two times it finally gave way.

Bass pulled Charlie inside and shut the door again.

It was a small cabin, empty and dark, but it looked like it had been used not so long ago. He thankfully noticed there was wood next to the fire place, which was placed in the middle of the lviing area. Before the fireplace there was a lush rug and there were two comfortable chairs, one large couch and a small coffee table centred around it.

Charlie noticed how her body started to shake even more violently. Her feet were aching. The snow had found its way through her boots, leaving her feet in pain, wet and cold just like the rest of her body. The last thing she was able to do was let her bag fall of her shoulders and crash on the floor behind her.

The loud noise of her bag crashing on the floor made Bass look at Charlie immediately. He walked over to her.

'Come on,' he could see how his words were barely reaching her, and he noticed the uncontrollably shivering that went through her body. He gently placed her on the couch.

'I will be right back, I will start a fire to get the place warmed up, okay?'

He kept on talking to her the whole time, while his hands skilfully started the fire. The soft sounds of the fire and the warm glow filled the small cabin.

He was pushing the cold out of his body mentally, making warmth the priority. His time at the Marines and his tours had taught him everything about mind above body, about surviving, about pushing through the impossible. This time, instead of a desert in a land thousands of miles away it was a blizzard. It did not matter to him, the mindset was the same.

Charlie heard his words, but could not find the meaning in them anymore. Bass grabbed her bag and pulled out the blankets and two towels. He quickly got out of his boots and jacket and grabbed one of the towels to get his hair dry while he returned to Charlie. The snowflakes in her blonde curls were melting.

He kneeled down in front of her, barefoot.

'Let's get you warm again, shall we?' his tone was soothing, while he shot her an encouraging smile.

'So tired..Bass...' her voice so slow, while Charlie tried to get some words out, 'Cold...'

He could hear she had trouble talking, and another wave of panic started to wash over him. Fuck. Double fuck.

His hands gently opened her jacket and he helped her out them while he let her blue coat fall of her shoulders. Then he turned to her leather boots. He let the first glide of her calf, followed by the second. He reached for the still dry towel and let the fabric go over her hair. He tried to find her eyes, and she looked at him.

She looked absolutely miserable and hurt and he absolutely hated to see her like this.

Her hands were ice. Her feet too.

He made the decision in less than a second. He knew Miles would kill him if he would ever touch Charlie, but then again, he would kill him too if he would let anything happen to her. And that was just Miles. Her parents, and then especially Rachel, she always scared him more than Ben ever had, would kill him all over again if they ever found out.

The couch was close enough to the fireplace to heat them both up slowly.

'Charlie, I will have to get you out of all these wet clothes, do you understand?' he said with care in his words.

Charlie nodded at him.

'It's...okay,' she managed to get out between shivers.

She felt how Bass got her out her pants, with such gentleness. With a strong arm around her waist he lifted her from the couch and helped her to get out of the cold and wet fabric.

Her skin hurt in cold agony, and she could barely feel his touch when his fingers made contact with her skin. She was so miserably and sick and drowsy, that she was not even able to cry.

She should feel more exposed sitting only in her underwear in front of him like this, his gentle look in his eyes and the calm slow movement of strong hands made her at ease. He made her feel taken care of.

The only thing Bass cared for now, was getting her warm. When he got her vest and shirt over her head he quickly covered her up with a blanket.

He got up to his feet again, and threw his sweater and jeans on the floor with their other clothes. He sat down next to Charlie on the couch. With one flowing movement he reached out for her and pulled her close, her face somewhere against his shoulder and under his right arm and close to his chest.

He leaned back into the pillows in the corner of the large couch when he felt the weight and the curves of her body against his. He wrapped them both in the blankets, while he made sure Charlie was tucked in completey, covereing every inch of her body with the blankets and himself. Finally he wrapped his arms around her.

For the first seconds, their bodies were ice on ice, and Charlie let out a miserable sigh. She felt the hardness of his body under her and next to her. She could feel herself wrapped up against Bass and the soft couch. The coldness was radiating of his skin. Her head was spinning with exhaustion.

'Charlie, stay with me,' his voice was grounding her, keeping her awake. Although there was a part in her that just wanted to let go, drift off. She could not remember what it was like to be warm.

Bass knew she could not fall asleep, so he tried his best to keep her awake.

'Charlie, listen to me. You will be fine. Just try to stay awake a little while longer, we are safe now.'

After a while Charlie felt how some warmth was finding its way to her body again. The comforting sounds of a fire were reaching her. The scent of the cabin and his skin were all around her.

'We are safe.' His words were getting more clear, and she wondered from a far how very safe simple words could make her feel.

His body was warming up slowly, he slowly felt how she came back to the room, herself and him. After some time, he noticed how Charlie started to move in his arms. He could feel her body getting more warm, the cold grip of the cold losing its grip on her.

Her hand had settled on his chest, while her other hand had wrapped itself slowly over his underarm, her finger tops touching the outlines of the tattooed M on his arm.

The room around them was warm, the fire was doing its work.

Now he realised they were safe for tonight, the realisation of what could have happened started to sink in. He intuitively wrapped his arms closer around Charlie.

The wind was howling around the cabin, and through the small windows on his right he could see the wall of snow falling down in the forest around them outside.


Author's Note Thank you so very much for your kind reviews, I am having a lot of fun trying an AU story! Love from Love