Chapter Eleven

"Remember what you said last year?" Slim asked near Jess' ear as the gusty winds and swirling snow made it difficult to hear each other.

"I musta said thousands of different things last year," Jess nudged Slim for him to keep moving, even though it was getting more difficult to do so. "Gimme a hint."

"After everyone left last Christmas Eve, you said, "'it's getting so a man can hardly live through them,' meaning Christmases."

"I gotta stop being so prophetical," Jess answered with a grin.

"How'd you ever learn that word?" Slim asked, not even trying to hide the bewildered sound that came through his question.

"I heard it someplace, but don't ask me to spell it," Jess answered with a shrug as he slid down a slight embankment of snow. He turned and helped Slim down the slope, grimacing along with Slim when he put his foot down on the ground.

The wind made Jess bend low as he went forward, trying to stay upright. He knew the gusts were even harder for Slim to handle, but there was nothing else to do but press on. He continued forward with rugged determination, hoping that Slim's attitude matched his own, but when the hour turned one later, Jess could sense the struggle coming from Slim, who had steadily slowed down during the past thirty minutes.

"I don't know how much longer I can keep up," Slim stopped in the snow, dropped his hands to his knee, his breathing heavy and labored.

"You can't stop, Slim," Jess turned back in the snow until he reached Slim and encouraged him by putting his hand on his friend's back. "We'll freeze to death if we don't keep moving."

"I know," Slim straightened up. Every time he put his foot forward he couldn't help but groan with the pain that had been steadily growing. The rest of his body felt numb from the cold, which made the throbbing of his knee even harder to tolerate, making the awkward steps extremely difficult to manage.

"Come on," Jess took Slim by the arm, "lean on me."

"No, Jess," Slim shook his head as he pulled his arm out of Jess' grasp. "I'll only make your walking more strenuous. Just stay right ahead of me, breaking a trail like you've been doing. I'll make it."

"All right, Pard," Jess conceded, starting forward again, "don't get too far behind me. I can only see a few feet in either direction."

Jess pushed forward, taking his steps firmly and steadily, turning with every few steps to make sure Slim was still behind him. He started to sink further in the snow and struggled to make his way on a slightly different route to help Slim make it and as he fought the deeper levels of snow, he failed to turn to check on Slim. Jess felt the ground become more level and he breathed easier, thinking he must have taken a step into a ditch and now that he was glad to be on straighter ground again, he started to pick up his pace.

"I reckon I feel like a train, plowing forward, pushing everything outta my way. Since you're all the way in the back, that must make you the caboose, right Slim? Slim?" Jess quickly turned around but couldn't see Slim's outline anymore. "Slim! Answer me!"

There was nothing but the wind and snow that answered. Jess turned all around, looking in every direction, but the same scene met his face. He whistled, but the tempest blew the sound away as soon as it left his lips. Jess felt the thump of fear hit his chest but he pushed it away, not wanting to even think that a separation in this storm could mean death for both of them. Jess knelt towards the snow that was now over his knees, looking for any marks in the snow that indicated that Slim had wandered off course, but couldn't see any specific marking. He walked through the path that he'd already created, calling Slim's name, but couldn't hear any response, either because Slim couldn't call out in return, or like his high pitched whistle, the shrieking winds were destroying his call before it reached his ears.

Jess hurried as quickly as he could over the terrain he'd already gone through, searching with every one of his senses. When he started to stray away from his own trail, he circled around, unsure of any direction as the feeling of being lost struggled to overpower the worry that pounded in his temples. He desperately cried out Slim's name and in the midst of the swirling white, he thought he saw something move. Wiping the snow from his face he blinked rapidly, but whatever he'd seen was no longer there. He hurried in that direction anyway, taking his feet farther away from the original path line that he'd made by wading through the snow.

After walking for a few feet he stopped, the fear that he wouldn't find Slim pulling himself to a standstill. Jess cupped his hands over his mouth and gave a mighty shout, "SLIM!" With nothing but the wind meeting his ears, he shook his head hard and took another step forward when his leg brushed against something soft that wasn't snow, but something alive. "Slim!"

Jess kneeled in the snow and rolled Slim over. He'd been face down in the icy whiteness, his teeth chattering so hard that Jess could hear the sound through the wind. Jess touched Slim's face and his eyes fluttered open, but what he saw in them was no longer determination, but defeat. Jess started to brush as much snow as he could from Slim's jacket, but before he could finish, Slim brought a shaky hand up to Jess' arm to stop him.

"I'm sorry, Jess," Slim barely spoke above a whisper, "I just can't go on. Leave me here, Jess. Save yourself. Get home to Daisy and Mike."

"Sounds like you're borrowing my speech from this morning," Jess pulled his arm from Slim's weak grip and opened his jacket and pulled the folded quilt away from his abdomen. "Only this time I'm on the other side of things and I ain't gonna listen."

Jess opened the quilt to its maximum width and dropped it over Slim's body and then with every ounce of strength that rippled through the muscles in his arms and back, he picked Slim up out of the snow and draped him over his shoulder. Jess staggered with Slim's weight, but he managed to put one foot in front of the other until he felt that he was back on course with the road.

"Don't do it, Jess," Slim groaned near his ear, his voice getting quieter as he spoke with a labored breath. "Let me go."

"I've got you, Pard," Jess answered even though it was difficult to speak as he trudged forward, "and I ain't gonna let you go."

To force them from chattering, Jess gritted his teeth together until his jaw hurt as he struggled to walk, not knowing how long he'd be able to keep his body upright with Slim's weight added to his back. He moved slowly through the snow, his aim in more of a straight line than following the road that he could no longer discern in the darkness. Every time the ground shifted beneath him, he feared he was going to collapse, but the snow packed ground supported him as he continued to carry Slim and he moved onward, repeatedly telling himself that they were going to make it home.

"You've sure got a stubborn, hard head," Slim said groggily, bringing a half smile to Jess' face.

"No more than you, Hard Rock," Jess answered, shifting Slim's position slightly to help keep the quilt from falling over his eyes. Even though he couldn't see much in front of him, he still didn't want to be blindly walking forward, especially now that he carried Slim's life on his shoulders.

Suddenly Jess felt Slim's arm go limp against his back and knew that Slim had passed out and the worry that he'd felt before kicked into high gear. He gave Slim a jolt near his injured knee to wake him, but it only brought a small groan from his mouth as it formed his name. Jess knew the dangers that came from the brutal cold and unconsciousness, but jostling Slim as he struggled to keep walking wasn't keeping his partner awake long enough to do any good. He moved faster, knowing that every step he took was vital for Slim's life. Jess shook Slim's leg but instead of an awaking reaction, he felt Slim start to slide off of his shoulder and Jess was powerless to stop his partner from falling into the snow.

"Slim," Jess kneeled down beside Slim and patted his cheeks, but only received a low noise coming through Slim's mouth in response. "Dadgummit Slim, you can't give up on me now."

Jess wiped his hand roughly over his face, knowing that his strength was gone. He'd carried Slim as far as he could and unless Slim aroused soon, this unknown place was the end of the line for both of them. As long as Slim stayed unconscious, Jess would remain by his side. Jess would not leave Slim alone, no matter what this storm lashed at them next.

Jess' hands moved quickly as he tucked the quilt tightly around Slim's body and then yanked the shawl from his head and wrapped it close to Slim's face, leaving only his eyes, nose and mouth exposed. He couldn't do much, but at least he could make his partner as warm as he possibly could, for however long it was necessary, even if he had to use every last piece of his own coverings to do so.

The wind took a violent howl, nearly tearing Jess' hat off of his head in the process and Jess abruptly rose to his feet. He faced the wind and swirling snowflakes as if he were facing a gunfighter ready for a fierce fight. His stance even spread to the right distance, but his hand didn't go for his gun, but balled into a fist towards the sky. He should have been shaking, the cold was enough to course shivers through the strongest of men, but Jess stood rigid as his body pumped warmth through his body from one single source. His body language showed intense anger, but his eyes showed intense love and it was this life giving source that kept his feet planted and the warm blood flowing through his veins.

The elements of the world could give a tremendous fight. He'd already fought and lost the greatest conflict against the worst opponent possible, fire. Although that death battle was brought on by an evil set of hands, the fight was still against something far beyond anyone's power to control. This snow that Jess now faced could strangely compare, with its freezing touch like embers coming from the sky, burning in different ways, yet still holding the ability to kill. He didn't want to think that he was about to lose another loved one to nature's fury, but the possibility lay before him like the snow that blanketed for miles in every direction and its knowledge struck him with a forceful blow to not only his outward, physical body, but sent a pain deep into his core.

Jess felt the agonizing fear course through his body for the second time that day. His near fatal fall into the cave earlier suddenly seemed like an entire year had passed and not the few hours that it had been, but the gentle peace he'd felt during his harrowing journey no longer existed. It was easy to forget that presence, that peace, for now it wasn't only his life on the line, but if Jess had stilled his heart, he would have realized that what was with him then, was still with him now. His body, mind and soul were filled with his partner, because Slim was all that mattered, just like the beginning of the terrible rock slide when Jess kept his focus on the team of horses, trying to get them through.

Jess had done everything to ensure Slim's survival, going as far as sacrificing his own life to save his partner from death. In doing so, Jess had been spared by mercy or miracle, or whatever word that he could use to describe his close call. Surely he hadn't saved Slim and escaped his own death that morning just to be powerless to save his partner again and then be forced to watch Slim succumb to his own death that night. Jess stood still, his fighting stance starting to wane as he stared out at the black and white earth.

Jess turned around, dropping a knee into the snow beside Slim. He put his hands on Slim's body, his head dropping over Slim's face so that his partner was fully protected from the falling snow. A memory flashed into his head of how he'd knelt over the remains of his family and he cried out in anguish, the pain coming back into his heart with violence as if that hellacious day was happening all over again. In a way, it was.

"I tried to save you, Slim," Jess said, mirroring his thoughts about his little brother so long ago, which in tender truth, was the exact feeling that bled from his brother Slim's heart that very morning. "I tried to save you," his words made him shudder enough that the quivering was passed through his hands into Slim's covered body. That movement, along with the added layers and Jess' hovering body began to provide needed warmth that began to stir a slumbering soul.

Slim groaned, the sound coming out of his lips with a wisp of air that curled a scent around Jess' nose. Peppermint! Jess' hands were immediately on Slim's coat, reaching into every pocket until his gloved hand wrapped around what he was looking for. He pulled out the remaining stick of peppermint and slid it through Slim's parted lips, the sugar starting to dissolve as soon as it met his tongue. Jess watched Slim's mouth twitch and then his head moved and Jess put his hands on Slim's shoulders and gave him a firm shake.

"Wake up, Slim," Jess shouted sharply near Slim's ear. "You ain't gonna make me bury you under all this snow, are you?"

"Jess?" Slim answered, his eyes opened and then blinked as snowflakes brushed his lashes. "Where am I?"

"I ain't got the foggiest idea," Jess answered, his face full with a smile as he rejoiced to see the blue eyes of his partner, "or maybe I should say I ain't got the snowiest of ideas."

"What happened?" Slim sat up groggily, his hand instantly reaching out to Jess.

"You fell asleep or passed out," Jess explained, wrapping his hand around Slim's outstretched palm. "The sugar in the peppermint musta been enough to arouse you. Good thing, too, or I mighta started pounding my fist alongside your jaw."

"Now I'm more than ever thankful for the peppermint," Slim said, working his jaw as if it hurt with the thought that Jess could have struck him in an attempt to wake him.

"Who knew you'd go to extreme lengths for something sweet?" Jess teased, the smile reaching to his eyes.

"Me," Slim laughed, feeling stronger and warmer, and he suddenly realized why. "Jess, why am I covered in this quilt and have Daisy's shawl around my face?"

"To keep you alive," Jess shrugged like it hadn't been any big deal to offer his layers of warmth to Slim, even though in doing so he was putting himself at a higher risk of hypothermia, "what else?"

"When are you ever going to stop sacrificing yourself for me?" Slim asked, his voice tender with emotion.

"As long as you need me to," Jess answered. Self sacrifice had been a driving factor in Jess' life since his fifteenth year. He'd always felt he'd failed his family on that horrific day, so when he'd been given a new family to love, he'd vowed to give until there wasn't anything left to give. He would give his life for Slim, for all of his friends and family, again and again if need be, because that's what love did. And love, Jess knew, was what made Christmas truly Christmas.