A.N. Here we go. I finally got back on track. I experienced a very painful loss in my family this week, and writing helped to soothe the hurt. And so this chapter was born. I hope you like it. I finally got into the next stage of the story, and I am very glad for that. I know it's short, and I'm sorry, but here you go. Read on. Oh, and I don't own Kickin' It.

OooOooOooOooO (Kim POV)

I woke up to the sun on my face for the first time in days. I was also in Jack's arms, but that was how I had woken up the last time, too. It was still pretty comfortable.

"Jack," I called gently. He pulled me closer, but he didn't wake up. "Jack," I repeated. He didn't respond. "Jackie, wake up." He tugged me closer still, but this time I could see a grin appearing on his face. "I know you're awake, Jack. Open your eyes." He obeyed, and his brown gaze met my hazel one.

"Good morning, Kim. Are you ready to get moving?" He asked as he stared at me.

"Um, yeah, I guess so," I replied. "But I'm not going to be able to go much of anywhere if you don't let me go." The boy flushed as he released me. I missed the warmth as I sat up. I also realized that I was damp with dew, and a shiver ran down my spine in the chilly morning air.

"All right, let's get out of here," I said with conviction. With that, I began dragging my half-broken body down the tree. All of the injuries, small and large, that I had sustained culminated in one solid ache that wracked my frame. It was very distracting, as was the… interesting view of Jack I had as I looked up at him. These reasons probably had a lot to do with my foot slipping on a branch about ten feet from the ground.

I was watching Jack to make sure he didn't plummet as he had the last time he had climbed the tree, so I wasn't watching my footing. There was a treacherous wet spot on the branch I was trusting my weight to. My foot skidded out from under me, and I had a hard time not falling out of the tree myself. My arm locked around the branch level with my face, and I was saved from the drop. Despite this, Jack rushed down to my branch worriedly.

"Kim, are you okay? Did you hurt your ankle again? And how's your back?"

"I'm fine, Jack. You seriously need to calm down. I'm a big girl, and I can take care of myself. I stared him in the eyes until he looked away. As much as I cared about Jack, he needed to understand that I wasn't always his damsel in distress and that I could handle myself.

"Sorry, Kimmy. I just hate seeing you hurt, and I've had to see that way too much lately," he explained as he fixed his gaze on the branch beneath our feet. I'm all too human, and I relented.

"It's okay, Jack. I just hate feeling helpless." He nodded and continued climbing down. Now it was he who had the view, which embarrassed me to no end. I also noted that he looked ready to catch me if I stumbled even the slightest bit. It seemed that I hadn't gotten through to him as much as I'd hoped.

'Oh well. Jack will be Jack,' I thought with a sigh as my feet sank onto the forest floor. My companion pointed in a direction we decided was probably the opposite of the way we had come, and we started off.

For a few minutes, we trudged along in silence, both lost in our own thoughts. I considered my family, the boys back at the dojo, school, and Jonathan. All in all, my ideas were too jumbled for me to make much sense of it. I wondered if Jack was having better luck.

OooOooOooOooO (Jack POV)

As we wandered along aimlessly through the trees, my thoughts followed a similar, meandering path. But one thing dominated my mind: the blonde girl walking next to me. Neither of us spoke, though, and the silence stretched longer and longer.

After an hour of roaming, Kim broke the mutual quiet. "I wish I had my phone," she lamented. I couldn't help myself; I started laughing. She glared at me briefly, but then she joined in with my mirth. I didn't know why it was so funny, and I had a feeling that neither did she, but it was funny. It felt good to laugh.

Finally, I controlled myself, and she shoved me into a tree playfully. "Oh, you'll regret that, Crawford," I told her menacingly. She just giggled as I pretended to shove her back, but then she went silent. I swear her ears perked up as she listened intently. In the ensuing quiet, I heard what she had noticed. Cars and people talking. A.K.A. civilization.

"People!" Kim exclaimed as she raced toward the sounds. I was right at her heels. It seemed that the nightmare was finally over. We broke out of the trees at long last and found ourselves in a small town. Kim hardly hesitated to cross the street that was right in front of the tree line to the house on the other side.

"Kim, wait up!" I called as I chased her across the road. It wasn't a busy town, and I was glad of that, especially since I knew that I was a mess of bruises and there was probably vegetative matter in my hair. When I arrived at her side, Kim was already using the knocker.

"We'll ask to use a phone, call Rudy, find out where we are, and finally get home," Kim summed up excitedly. I heard footsteps approaching the door, and the anticipation of a friendly face was almost too much for me. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. A familiar, unfriendly face opened the door.

"Jack?" Kai asked surprisedly. Then his shock turned to a smirk. "Come on in." He grabbed my arm in one hand and his other arm wrapped around Kim's shoulder. I attempted to struggle, but it was too late. The door swung shut behind us. Kai let me go briefly, and I heard the click of the lock. But to me, it sounded like the clanging of a metal cell door. 'Trapped again. Great.'

OooOooOooOooO

A.N. Well? How was it, besides far too short? And what do you think of the plot twist? Tell me, tell me, tell me! Push that little button down there and leave a REVIEW! Oh, and how did you like the title? I expect you know the rest of the saying.