A/N: Thanks for the great reviews I've received so far, and sorry for the wait on this next chapter. I had a bit of trouble with it, because nothing much happens – it's just build up at the moment!

xxxx

Vince yawned and pulled his knees up to his chest. He and Howard had spent the last hour or so chatting on the sofa, trying to take their minds off of their situation. It had felt just like old times, when they were back at the zoo and spent the night shift talking about anything and everything. Now, they were starting to wind down, the fire making them sleepy. Howard watched as the flames danced in Vince's eyes, his face warm and glowing, such a contrast to the bleakness of their surroundings. Then Vince's stomach rumbled, and Howard chuckled.

"Hungry?"

Vince glanced at him sheepishly. "A bit."

"Yeah, me too. I think I've got..." Howard reached over and pulled his bag onto his lap. "Ah-ha!"

"What on earth's that?" Vince enquired, pulling a face as Howard took the lid off a Tupperware box.

"They're just sandwiches, Vince."

"Yeah, but what's in them?"

"Ham, cheese and pickle."

"Oh! I don't mind that."

Howard rolled his eyes and held the box out to Vince. Vince grinned and took a sandwich, biting down hungrily on the brown bread. They sat in companionable silence as they ate, taking occasional sips of water from Howard's flask and wincing as the thunder continued to rumble and the lightning flashed through the window. Vince seemed to be more at ease now, Howard noted, and he was pleased, because the last thing either of them needed was to get hysterical when they were stuck in the middle of nowhere, with no way of contacting anyone and no... Howard decided it wouldn't be healthy to continue that train of thought. He needed to remain calm and focus on being proactive. Even so, it took him a while to realise that Vince was talking to him.

"Howard? Howard."

Howard shook his head. "Sorry, Vince."

"You all right?"

"Yeah, I was just thinking."

Vince smirked. Howard slapped his arm.

"What did you want, anyway?"

Vince hung his head slightly, his face flushing. "I, um, need to use the loo, but I don't want to go on my own."

Howard smiled. "Come on, then. I think there was one just up the hall."

As soon as they left the living room, they both began to shiver.

"Oh, I think I want to go back," Vince whined, trying to turn back round. Howard put a hand on his shoulder and gently pushed him forward, using the other to switch on the torch.

"You're not peeing in the living room."

Vince grumbled and wrapped his arms around himself as he stumbled along. The wind was blowing through the house, making the building creak eerily, and Vince jumped every time a flash of lightning lit up the corridor, the shadows looking grotesque as they crept along the walls.

"This should be it," Howard said, stepping forward and pushing open a door. It swung open noisily. "Go on, then."

"Promise you won't leave?"

Howard smiled gently. He wasn't used to seeing this side of Vince. He was usually cocky and self-assured, waltzing through life and its ups and downs with ease. Feeling a sudden rush of affection for him, Howard reached out and squeezed Vince's arm. "I promise."

Satisfied, Vince gave a small, somewhat embarrassed smile back, and pulled the door closed behind him. There was a window directly above the toilet, and he could see that out the back of the house the trees were far denser. He looked away, humming as he relieved himself to stop his mind running wild with speculation as to what could possibly be out there. When he'd finished and zipped himself back up, it took him a while to work out why the toilet wouldn't flush before his brain kicked into gear and told him there wasn't any water. He frowned slightly, looking up from the handle of the toilet and turning to leave, but as he did, his eyes caught sight of something at the window. He cried out, stumbling backwards, then all but screamed when he felt hands on his shoulders holding him steady.

"All right, it's okay! It's me!"

Vince spun round, his eyes wild, nearly knocking Howard over in his haste to run into the hallway. Howard, who had burst into the toilet after hearing Vince's cry, turned and ran after him, shouting out for him to stop. He eventually managed to grab hold of him, having no choice but to pin him against the wall to keep him still. Vince was breathing heavily, his eyes wide and skin as white as snow.

"Vince! Calm down. What happened?"

Vince swallowed heavily, and when he spoke his voice came out as a terrified whisper. "There's something outside."

Howard frowned. "What do you mean? What did you see?"

"I-I don't know. I just... All I saw were these two red dots, like eyes. We have to leave, Howard. I want to go home! Please, please take me home," Vince whimpered, clutching onto the front of Howard's jumper. He looked like he was about to cry.

Howard put a hand to Vince's cheek in an attempt to calm him down. "Hey, come on, now. I'm sure it was nothing. Are you sure you weren't looking at the sky? It could have been lights from a plane."

Vince shook his head roughly. "I'm not making it up!"

"I know, I know – I never said you were. But Vince, there's nothing here – just you and me. You're fine, and you're safe. Come on, let's go back to the living room, it's freezing out here. I'll put some more wood on the fire and we'll try and get some sleep, okay?" Howard pushed Vince's hair away from his face and smiled reassuringly at him as he pulled him away from the wall and led him back towards their only source of heat.

--

Howard seated Vince back on the sofa and then busied himself with breaking up another chair, chucking the pieces onto the dying fire. He watched as the flames started to grow again, then turned back to Vince, who was huddled as tightly as he possibly could be into the corner of his seat, head buried between the arm and back cushion. Howard went and sat down next to him, placing a hand on Vince's knee. "All right, little man?"

Vince didn't move, but he spoke, his voice muffled by the cushion. "It wasn't a plane. It was right in front of me."

Howard leant over him, giving him a back-to-front hug. "How about you try and get some sleep and I'll keep watch."

Vince turned his head to look at him. "But what about you? You're tired too."

"Me? Nah, I'll be fine."

"You've been driving all day."

"Yeah, well." Howard went to pull away, but Vince reached a hand round to stop him.

"Don't. It's comforting."

They locked eyes, and Howard nodded in understanding. It wasn't something he was used to, but if it made Vince feel better then he wasn't going to stop. He did, however, need to get more comfortable.

"Just let me shift us a bit."

Vince let Howard pull him up, Howard putting an arm around Vince and pulling him into him. Vince rested his head against Howard's chest, an arm clasped around his friend's waist, snuggling as close as he possibly could.

"Better?"

"You don't believe me, do you?"

Howard hugged Vince tighter. "I don't know if there's anything out there, but I believe that you believe you saw something." How could he not, when he could feel the slight tremble of Vince's body and hear the shake in his voice.

But Vince was still sceptical. "Do you?"

"Of course. I know when you're lying, Vince – I've known you long enough."

That seemed to satisfy him, and he closed his eyes, not seeing Howard's look of concern. Howard glanced over to the window, watching as the wind whipped the rain and leaves against the glass. In truth, he'd been feeling slightly apprehensive all along – who wouldn't in their situation? But he never really believed that anything bad would happen. It was all psychology, anyway. They were stuck in the middle of nowhere in an abandoned old house during a storm – of course their minds were going to play tricks on them. Not that Howard's was going to let his get the upper hand, but Vince was sensitive, and had also probably seen one too many horror films. God only knew the sorts of things his mind could conjure up when panicked, and Howard was determined to keep him as calm as possible, which meant that he had to keep a completely level head.

xxxx

Vince mumbled in his sleep and tried to roll over, moaning when he couldn't. Howard looked down at him, the corners of his mouth tugging up as he saw the indignant look on Vince's face. He moved his arm so Vince could turn, but as he did Vince woke up, blinking up at Howard blearily and looking slightly confused.

"Okay, little man?"

Vince turned his face to bury it against Howard, muffling his words slightly as he spoke. "I was hoping this had all just been a bad dream."

"'Fraid not. But the storm seems to have moved away, and it's stopped raining."

"Oh, well in that case I guess everything's fine," Vince grumbled, sitting up and folding his arms across his chest.

Howard sighed. "Vince..."

Vince looked at him, his face softening. "Sorry. I know you're doing your best. How long was I out for?"

"A couple of hours," Howard said, looking at his watch. "It's just gone one."

Vince laid back against Howard, his head resting against his shoulder. "Do you... Do you think something really bad happened here?"

"Vince, don't. You'll just end up freaking yourself out."

"But, it's as if everyone left in a hurry, like something chased them out..." Vince's voice was barely a whisper, and he was now clutching Howard's arm, his eyes darting about the room anxiously.

"Vince, stop it. There's nothing here, okay? You have to stop thinking like that – it won't do you any good." Howard squeezed Vince's hand and looked at him reassuringly. "I'm not about to let anything happen to you, am I?"

Vince smiled, and was about to speak when a dripping sound caught his attention. Looking up above the window he could see - as well as the fact that it had started to rain again - that water was seeping through a crack in the ceiling. He watched as it splashed against the wooden floor, little droplets bouncing back up before settling.

"We should put something under that." Howard started looking around him, getting up and walking about the room. He soon gave up. "I'm going to see if I can find a bucket."

Vince jumped up, looking nervous. "On your own?"

Howard smiled at him fondly. "Want to come?"

xxxx

They finally found a bucket in the kitchen under the sink. Vince, feeling a little better, started going through the cupboards and drawers to see what he could find.

"Vince, what are you doing?"

"Just looking."

"I don't think you'll find anything interesting in the kitchen."

"You never kn- Ooh! What's this?" Vince withdrew his hand from the draw he was searching. Howard's eyes widened and as Vince clocked what he was holding, he instantly threw it down onto the counter. "A gun?!"

Howard moved forward next to him and they both stared down at the pistol. "Who keeps a gun in the kitchen drawer?"

"Do you think it's loaded?"

"I dunno. Maybe."

There was a bang from outside and both men jumped, spinning round to face the window. Howard put his hand on Vince's shoulder.

"It's just thunder – the storm's coming back."

Vince was breathing heavily, his eyes trained on the window. "Howard?" he whispered, voice trembling.

"Vince, it's okay..."

"There's something out there."

"There's... Vince, there's nothing there, honest -"

"No! I saw it!"

"Saw what?!" Howard cried, starting to get panicked. He screwed up his fists and took a deep breath. "Vince, what was it?"

"I-I don't know. It was like a shadow." He pulled on Howard's sleeve. "Can we go now?"

Vince was breathing so fast that Howard was afraid he'd hyperventilate. "I'm sorry, Vince, but you know we can't. Tell you what – I'll go outside and have a look, just to put your mind at rest, okay?"

"What?! Howard, no, please -"

"It'll be all right," Howard said, moving towards the back door. As he did, he reached his hand out to the side and picked up the gun.

"Howard!"

"Stay there."

Vince grabbed Howard's arm and tried to pull him back. Tears teetered on the edge of his lids, and the closer to the door they got, the harder they threatened to fall. Howard reached out for the door handle.

"Howard, don't, please! It's probably locked anyway!"

Howard pushed the handle down. The door opened easily, the wind banging it back against the wall. Howard stepped out slowly, one hand behind him to keep Vince back, the other holding the gun in front of him – not that he had any idea how to use it, but how hard could it be? Point and shoot, right? Anyway, it wasn't like he'd be needing it. "Vince, stay inside," he said quietly, as he stepped out onto the patio, which was overgrown with weeds and grass, instantly getting soaked as the rain pummelled into him. He held the gun out in front of him, finger trembling against the trigger, telling himself it was only doing so because of the cold.

"Howard!"

Howard whirled round. "Vince, get back inside – you'll get soaked!"

Vince reluctantly did as he was told, and about a minute later, jumped and cried out when he heard a gunshot.

xxxx

Reviews are love!