Rainbows are beautiful.

Seriously. How often do you get the chance to just stop and stare at a rainbow? I don't get the chance very often. There's always something to do, or places to go, or enemies to fight. Things just never seem to slow down long enough to really take notice of the simple pleasures in life. Things like riding through the sky, carefree. Talking with a friend about nothing at all. The good feeling of achy soreness you get after a particularly good work out. Good food.

Being alive.

That's the most important one. I know I'm just musing, but I think most people go through life without actually living for anything. They don't really lift their eyes from the road before them. They never see the sky, or the possibilities that lie just beyond the horizon.

Now, I wont go as far as to say that I am some all knowing, sage individual. Far from it. But I think I now know the importance of living beyond yourself. For something other than yourself. The idea that there is something out there that is greater than your original purpose is a huge concept. And I think a lot of people have trouble realizing that. So they just don't think about it.

I never thought about it. Until now, that is.

The day was bright and warm and I couldn't help but marvel at the contrast between the sunny morning air and the stony cold of the cave. The sun was hardly above the horizon but its light shone down over the small terra with intensity.

The light refracted inside the new waterfall that continued to pump furiously out of the side of the cliff that we had fallen out of. The rainbow it made was large and luminous and I had been staring at it for at least an hour.

Beautiful.

Looking at the small wonder of nature that was that rainbow made it easier to deal with the pain that my body was in.

I wasn't actually wounded badly at all. The worst of my pains was my gashed leg, which wept a little blood but was still superficial. I was aching though. Down to the muscle. Straight through the bone. I hurt all over. It felt as though someone had dragged me through a field of thorns before pounding my body with a mallet. I had bruises covering my skin and there were scrapes, cuts, and gashes all over me. My clothing was looking much the worse for wear, and to top it all off, I was caked in drying mud. It was thick and gritty stuff. It made my clothing stiff and difficult to move.

It was too much effort to move right now anyway. That's why I was contemplating the rainbow.

I just didn't want to move.

I was alive. Even though it hurt so much right now, I was alive.

I let my eyes roll down from the rainbow to my lap.

She was alive too.

I remembered dimly what had happened earlier. The sheer weight of the fatigue that had gripped me. The mad, frustrating scramble to get away from the water to a place to rest. We had fallen down together and I remembered doing my best to keep Piper close so she wouldn't get chilled.

Then darkness. Until I woke up, that is.

I sat leaning against the bower of a tree with my arms fallen to the ground beside me and my legs all akimbo. Piper had slid down my chest during the night and she now lay with her head pillowed on my left thigh. She was sleeping deeply and profoundly. The sleep of someone who had been pushed to the limits of endurance and desperately needed to recharge.

She was no better than I was at the moment. Covered in mud and bruises. I knew her chest had to be agonizing. I heard the cracking noises when I was resuscitating her earlier. At least one or two ribs must have cracked.

I took a deep breath in. I was still tired but I could no longer sleep. Somehow I had just awoken and I couldn't get my eyes to stay closed no matter how much I tried. I couldn't do anything beyond sit there and watch the waterfall and keep a weird sort of vigil over Piper's rest.

Even now, I was marveling that she was still breathing. She had scared me last night. Badly. I mean, we had all gotten into some tight squeezes before but we never got seriously hurt. Even back when we first became the Storm Hawks and Finn and Junko were captured by the Cyclonian empire… even then, we never seriously considered the possibility that some of us might not make it back.

It was like a big game to us. In some ways, I suppose, it always would be.

But Piper could have died last night. Hell, we both could have. It was sheer luck that I hadn't breathed any other water in myself. What would have happened if I hadn't regained my consciousness when I did?

Piper hadn't been breathing. A few more minutes like that and she would have died.

I closed my eyes. That thought… the idea that one of my teammates would be gone… it physically hurt. I clenched my teeth together and fumbling my right hand to her. I gripped her shoulder gently and felt the flex of the muscles there. It warmed me. Reassured me that she was really still there.

I know that we all accepted the risks when we agreed to become a squadron. I would lay down my life for each and every one of my teammates without a second thought. I would do anything for all of them. But I don't think I could ever accept them doing the same for me.

Emotion was running high within me by now. The tears slid from beneath my closed eyes, hot and silent. I was glad that Piper was still asleep. I hate it when people see me cry.

Its not something a leader should do. Its not something that I should show to my friends.

Its private.

I've learned to let my emotions drain discretely. I never sob or choke up. I don't carry on or whine or anything like that. When I finally cannot hold in my tears anymore, they are silent and unseen by the others.

I let my hand, trembling and unsteady, rove over Piper's face and gently touch her hair. Even though I cradled her head in my lap, even though I could feel each strong breath she took, I still couldn't seem to convince myself that everything was okay.

I mean, she had almost died.

And it was my fault.

If I had only been more careful. If I had never stepped so close to that last crystal. I don't think I could have lived with the guilt of Piper's death if it had come to that. How could I have faced the guys after that? How could I have looked Radarr in the face, knowing that I was the reason for the death of one of my most valued friends?

I couldn't. It was as simple as that.

Piper was a huge part of the team. Even the one time she had left, we all felt the hole that had opened up in her place. And that hadn't even been for real.

We needed her. There was no way around that. Piper had to live. Had to be with us. Had to stay.

It had scared me so badly… that was one thing I never, ever wanted to see happen again.

So now I wept, both because she was injured on my account, and because I was so very relieved that she survived.

The tears ran hot and strong for several minutes before they subsided. I sniffed loudly, my nose having gotten stuffy.

I opened my eyes. She was still laying there, like she had been for the past few hours, restful and seemingly at peace in my lap. One of her hands twitched, tickling my leg with her fingertips.

I trailed my fingers over her face again, this time watching as the touch elicited a slight tightening of the skin as my hand passed over it.

"I'm glad you're okay," I whispered. My voice was broken. It caught painfully on the breeze.

I sat there for hours, letting her sleep. My hand made constant motions over the side of her face and hair as I looked up again to stare at the glittering waterfall and the refractions of the sun stretching out over the sky.

Rainbows are beautiful.

OOO

The sun had climbed high into the sky by the time she started to stir.

She stretched first, yelping as soon as her ribs moved. I winced in sympathy and touched her shoulders gently.

She opened her eyes and looked around uncomprehendingly at first. She stared up at me for a moment. "Aerrow?"

"I'm here. Are you okay?"

Piper winced and tried to sit up. She got perhaps a third of the way there before she curled over to the side in pain. "Ooh…."

I hurried to support her back, ignoring my own aches that protested any motion on my part. "Hey, take it easy. I think you have a broken rib or two."

"Huh? How-ow! Did I do that?"

"I had to resuscitate you." I said, "And I think I might have been a little too…rough?"

"Oh." She murmured, "I remember." Then after a moment, she blushed furiously. She gingerly sat up straighter and pushed my hands away.

"You okay?"

"As okay as I can be with…ow…"

"Maybe you should lay down again or something. Its only been a few hours."

She looked up at the sky. "I wonder how long its been since we got here… I'm hungry."

"Yeah."

"And… gross."

I raised my eyebrows. "Piper, you definitely aren't gross. What makes you say that?"

She looked away, but motioned to her mud splattered frame. "Um… maybe all the crud that we have all over us? I feel disgusting."

"Uh… that. Yeah. I understand what you mean now."

"So… what now, Aerrow?"

"I don't know. Can you stand up?"

"I'll try. I think you might have to help me get up but I should be able to walk on my own."

I nodded, extricated myself from her with some difficulty due to my various minor ailments, then held out my hand to her. She gripped it and tried to pull herself to her feet but it was soon apparent that she would need a lot more help than just a hand up.

I crouched down and hooked my hands beneath her arms. On the count of three, I lifted and she shoved awkwardly against the ground. It was hard but she was light, so in short order she was standing, albeit unsteadily. I didn't release her just yet. "You sure you can stand on your own?" I asked.

"What are you going to do if I cant? Carry me?" She tried to laugh it off but the pain made her gasp. "I'll be fine. We'll just have to go slow."

"Okay," I replied, "But you have to tell me when you need to rest, you got it? I don't need you hurting yourself more. I-" I stopped.

She looked at me curiously. "What?"

I looked away and cleared my throat. "I just don't want you to get hurt again." I glanced back at her. She was staring at me with an odd look in her eyes. "I mean, it was my fault… I don't know what I would do if… well. You know."

Piper said nothing. I looked away again, uncomfortable for some reason. She reached over and squeezed me shoulder. "It wasn't your fault Aerrow. Didn't it only happen because you saved me in the first place?"

I forced a laugh. It sounded so fake. "Yeah. You know, we're just saving each other all over the place lately aren't we?"

I felt her hand drop away and I could see the flash of motion as she shook her head. "Where do we go now?"

I stared at the landscape around us. "I think our skimmers are on higher ground. We went pretty deep into that cavern… then the water spit us out over there at that cliff." I pointed at the waterspout. It was still going strong. "If we cant find another way up, we're going to have to go hiking. Are you up for that?"

Piper grimaced. "I don't have much of a choice do I?"

"Lets head towards the cliff then. Maybe we'll find a path or something up the side."

She nodded. We started off slowly, so as not to push her too much in her wounded state. "Ugh.. and while we're at it, lets try to find a place to rinse off. I feel like I've been helping Junko grease the Condor's bearings joints again."

I barked a surprised laugh. "He actually talked you into doing that?"

"Yeah… I'm a sucker for the puppy dog eyes."

"I'm so glad I'm immune to that. I mean, its bad enough with Radarr… could you imagine if he could get me with his cute faces?"

"Yeah… why do you think I make all those sandcakes for him? Its not like he pays me for that."

"Mmm… Sandcakes. I could go for one of those about now. Think there will be any left when we get home?"

"Doubt it. Stork will have eaten them if Radarr didn't."

"Ah… damn. I'll just have to sweet talk you into making some more when you feel up to it then, wont I?" I grinned. "I'll have to try the puppy dog stare if you say no."

She choked back a laugh. "Ow.. that hurts."

I frowned. "I'm sorry.. I don't want to hurt you Piper."

"Its okay.. but.. Aerrow?" At the tone of her voice, I glanced back with curiousity.

"Yeah?"

I felt the warmth of her hand on my cheek. I looked at her in surprise. She was staring straight into my eyes with such an odd look. It was scary, intense, and gave me a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach. She looked at me as though she was searching for something and I just looked back with my eyes wide open in surprise. After a moment, she sighed and let her hand fall from my face. "I just… thanks."

She moved ahead of me in a slow staggering step. I looked after her with confusion growing through me. I could still feel the warmth of her hand.

What was all that about?

OOO

Well, here's another one. Hope you like it. It feels kinda short, but hey, I only had about an hour to spare for this one. I didnt have much direction with this chapter, which is why it didnt really do much but get them up and walking again.

I might be able to update again tonight but don't hold your breath too long. I will definitely have a new chapter up tomorrow, right on schedule.

Please review if you are of a mind to, and thank you for reading!