My warning came too late. The giant boulder knocked Jake off his horse with a large THUMP. It rolled to a stop not far from us. I dismounted quickly and hurried over to him. So much for not crying. My cheeks were drenched with tears when I reached him. He was no longer conscious and I kneeled belong his head, cradling his head in lap. "Oh please be okay Jake. Please be okay. Please be okay. Oh please..." Finally, he let out a groan and tried to stand up and cried out in pain. "Stay lying down for now, Jake. Where does it hurt?"

"Everywhere. My leg. My chest. One of my arms. " He groaned the words. "You have to have broken something, Jake. That wasn't a pebble that came down the hillside." I looked up at the sky. It was already graying. Of all the times for it to decide to rain. "We need to bring you to shelter. There's a cave near here. Do you think you could reach there if you could use me as a crutch?"

"Worth a shot, brat." I felt a flicker of annoyance at the nickname, but ignored it. I slung one of his arms over my shoulders and slowly tried to stand up. He cried out and I eased him back to the ground. "If you can't bring the person to shelter, bring the shelter to the person. Just a minute, Jake. You still have that medium tarp on the back of your saddle?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"'Cause it's the key to keeping you dry." I walked over to Witch and unwrapped the blue plastic from its bindings. Then, as almost an afterthought, I checked her over. Amazingly, she didn't bite me for touching her. Maybe she knew I was helping her. Jake had obviously taken the brunt of the boulder's impact. The saddle would need some huge repairs, but her abdomen only had a few scratches. They would heal with time.

Luckily, there were trees around us. There weren't enough to keep us dry though. I looked around while the rain held off and quickly found some small bendy trees. They wouldn't hold the tarp high, but it would have to do. I wasn't in a mood to complain. I took the knife I kept in a sheath on my belt and cut four. I'd have to thank my dad for insisting on my packing the knife. His comments about me being accident-prone weren't appreciated at the time, but they had their purpose. I walked back with my finds and shoved them into the soft ground and poked the other ends through the rivets on the tarp. Then, I glanced over at Jake, expecting a proud smile. Instead, there was a chattering of teeth and my eyes widened. He was cold and could have much worse than broken bones if he became any colder. I went to Ace, thankful I kept a blanket on the back of my brown leather saddle. I walked over to our makeshift shelter and the rain let loose. Unwrapping the precious bundle from its plastic casing, I draped it over Jake and sat down. "No Sam. Y-You n-need it."

"You don't pack a blanket on Witch's saddle and you're shaking like a leaf."

"You're not warm either though."

"It's okay. I'll be fine."

"So will I. It's not serious." He pulled me closer and put the blanket on both of us. I spoke, nearly in a whisper, the words filled with my fear. "It could have been. It could still be." Jake's brow creased. He put his arm around my shoulders to try to make me feel better, but I shrugged off his touch and looked away. It was a few minutes until he spoke. "I don't know what your problem is, Sam. Could you let me in on the secret?" Then, he took his hand and turned my face towards him. "What's wrong? You cried before the accident, and your cheeks are wet again. Were you crying just now?" I gave a shuddery breath. "I guess I have my answer. Why though? If some boy has hurt you, then so help me I'll pound him." I smiled slightly. "Who is it, Sam? I'll hurt him 'cause he hurt you."

"He's already in enough pain right now." I locked eyes with him, waiting for my words to sink in. Then, it dawned on him and he spoke gently. "How did I hurt you? When?"

"Today in general." A puzzled look came over his tanned face. "Can you explain?"

"Promise you won't be angry."

"I promise. Why would I be angry?"

"Remember I barfed at Slocum's? Rachel was flirting with you?"

"She's always done that. It's never affected you before."

"You weren't receptive to her attention before. Then, when the rock hit you, I...my heart felt like it might stop. I didn't know how serious your injuries were. If only I had warned you earlier..." My voice drifted off and I felt like crying again. "Sam, it wasn't your fault. Why should those things hurt you? And why would your explanation make me angry? I don't get it."

"When the rock fell, I thought I'd lose you, Jake."

"That's how friends feel when something bad happens. You're a great friend, Sam." I winced at his use of the word 'friend' and his eyes widened. "Wait a sec...you like me, don't you? Really like me?" I blushed and looked down at my lap. He put a finger on my chin and gently pushed my face up, smiling at me. Embarrassed, I moved away from his touch and flicked open my cell-phone to call home. "We're in the hills in the trees, under Jake's blue tarp. Yes Gram, I'm fine. Jake's in bad shape though. He's conscious, but I think he's broken a rib, his leg, and his arm, but other than that we're fine. Yes. Thanks." I clicked the cover shut. We're fine, except I'm confessing my love for my best friend and we're huddled awkwardly under the same blanket. We're stuck under a bright blue tarp with no light, no food and pouring rain all around us. Other than that, we're fine and dandy. "Jake, they're going to find us. They're comi-" Jake quickly pulled me over to him and kissed me gently on the lips. I was shocked, but so happy. He spoke to me, a long speech for Jake. It was out of character, but great. "I only ever dreamed of doing that with you, Sam. I only ever hoped you'd love me someday. I had given up on that dream. Rachel was as good as any other. I still hoped for you though, Sam." My heart soared at his words. He loved ME? "I'm sorry Sam that I caused you pain. I never meant to hurt yo-" It was my turn to interrupt a sentence as I kissed him long and hard. He leaned into the kiss and licked my bottom lip. I gladly granted him entrance. I grasped at his black hair as my tongue explored his mouth and his, mine. Then we separated, breathless but smiling.

Not much changed in the time that lapsed between then and when our rescuers found us.

And that's a wrap! Review the story though! Was it good? Bad? I don't take flaming reviews badly if people point out things in my writing that could be improved. I love it, because then I CAN improve! Remember: if you see inconsistencies with my story and the books, let me know because I haven't read them in ages.

Thanks to the user, moleking for pointing out problems in the first version's plot and character reactions. It really helped!