AN: This chapter is more a less a filler I needed to get where I wanted. Next time, we are back with the action! Thanks a lot for all the old and new favs/follows. You guys are awesome! XOXO

But they didn't make it very far.

After he had treated her arm, Billy was carrying the backpack again, but even with that her condition didn't improve. Kate's face became paler and paler and sweat was glistening on her forehead as she clutched her arm, walking behind him.

While the sniper kept watching their surroundings, Kate tried to do her best as well, but she couldn't focus. The throbbing pain in her arm was making it hard to concentrate on her task and the exhaustion kicking in more forceful was slowing her down as well. While they walked in silence, she became more and more desperate about their situation. They'd found the tracker Silva had placed on her, but he knew the direction in which they were heading and by that he most likely knew their destination.

At some point Kate was so exhausted she just couldn't go on anymore. Initially, she had intended just to rest for a few moments, but when she wanted to follow Billy she just couldn't move. Billy saw that she'd stopped and with one look in her eyes, he knew what was going on. He'd seen this look countless times with his comrades back in the Army. They were on the verge of breaking down but still too proud to ask for help. With one step he was next to her. Wordless, he slid his arm around her waist to support her weight. She leaned onto him and they continued for a while longer. But she was barely able to hold up on her feet.

"Do we have to move?" Kate asked, her voice somewhat slurred and Billy knew her well enough to realize that she was in a far worse shape than he'd assumed considering the fact that she was accepting his help without hesitation. He looked down to her and felt a strong protective instinct arise. She'd fought for him when he wasn't able to and now he would to all in his power to bring her home safely.

"At least until we find something suitable for the night." he said soothingly and tightened his grip around her small frame. "Come on."

Slowly, they made their way through the forests, stopping every now and then for Kate to rest. But with every footstep, Billy could see that he was doing her no good if he continued dragging her along with him.

Remembering their sleeping place from last night, he kept looking for deerstands and after a couple of minutes he'd spotted one similar to their previous. Helping her up the ladder, he followed her, making himself comfortable on the wooden floor.

When he was seated, he glanced to Kate who was leaning against the wooden wall. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was shallow. The bandage on her arm was soaked with blood and Billy considered changing the bandage for a tighter one. But with the blood supply to her hand cut off like this and the low temperatures he would most likely risk frostbite at her hand. So he decided against it and hoped that resting would help to stop the bleeding.

He felt for her forehead just to find it cold. It was a good sign, no fever to make her condition even worse. But as he reached for her hands and forearms to feel the temperature his momentarily relief faded. They were ice-cold. She was about to become hypothermic. He'd hoped that he could just let her sleep and regain a bit of strength but in a condition like hers she would most likely fall unconscious.

Suddenly, an idea came to his mind. He opened his backpack and after a few seconds he pulled out what he'd been searching for. Unfolding the sniper covers he'd used while observing the meeting with Silva, he wrapped them around Kate and himself, pulling her as close to him as possible. Even though he didn't like being constrained from a quick getaway in case they had to flee, it was the best he could come up with to improve her condition. The covers were not thick but shielded them from the cold and kept the warmth between them. It was not much to warm her, but considering her blood loss and her weak state it could mean the difference between life and death.

"Get some rest." he said, as he placed his vest next to them, opening his jacket to get her closer to his body.

"You're going to get a cold." she mumbled, her eyelids already shut, but her hands finding their way around his waist. He sucked in a sharp breath as her ice-cold fingers touched the skin under his shirt. Hopefully, it would help her to get better. He adjusted their position into a more comfortable one for her and wrapped the covers around them, placing a quick peck on her forehead.

"I'll be fine. Just making sure that you recover."

"Hmm…" she hummed as she drifted off to sleep and just as Billy was sure that she was asleep she spoke once more.

"Billy?"

"Huh?"

"Thank you."

"Anytime. Now get some rest." he breathed against her hair as he continued watching their surroundings. She would be safe tonight. He would make sure of it.

Time passed without anything to happen. The woods of Novi Pazar remained silent except for the faint whistling of wind in the trees. Every now and then Kate whimpered, obviously having had a bad dream but unable to snap out of it, and Billy tried his best to soothe her until she fell back into a deep sound sleep.

Watching their surroundings with the night vision gear, he could not see or hear a single soul. The constant fear that he was overlooking anything harmful to them was his companion for the time he sat there and he caught himself wishing that Kate would take over that part. His thoughts wandered back to the day of their hunting trip and her skills when tracking down the deer. Effortless, she'd spotted the stack and showed him where to go to have the best position to kill it.

Her hands suddenly tightened around his waist, fingernails digging into his skin, but not uncomfortably. It was the kind of grip to ensure that the person next to oneself was still there. A smile crept onto his features as he heard a small sigh escape her lips and while looking down to the woman nestled to his side, he became aware of their somewhat intimate position.

It was quite a contrast: running from and fighting off Silva's men in daylight and snuggled together by night. When they'd come to their senses after the IED explosion, they'd been concerned about each other's wellbeing, but they'd switched seamlessly into partner-mode when she had been frisking Silva's men for functioning weapons. They had each other's back in a way he not experienced in the Army or anywhere else. He had trusted his team mates blindly, it was out of the question, but the way he and Kate worked together was a completely different one. They acted in sync without even needing to speak a single word. And Billy was genuinely grateful for this rare gift.

The hours ticked by slowly. While Kate had been alarmingly cold when they'd settled down for the night, Billy could now feel her strong and steady heartbeat and her hands warming up. He silently smiled as she almost visibly gained back her strengths. It would take her some time to cope with the blood loss and the injury he had no idea how severe it was, but she was already recovering and it increased their chances to get out of this nightmare.

Shortly after 3:00 AM, Kate woke again, but this time she didn't fall back into sleep. Instead she insisted to take over the rest of the watch. Even though he was tired, Billy didn't like her wasting the precious time she got left to rest and recover. But he was tilting at windmills.

"I've slept enough." she urged him in a low voice.

"You need to rest." he replied, still glancing through his night vision goggles.

"And what good is it gonna do if you can't keep it together because you are too tired?" she whispered back reaching for the night vision gear. Then her fingers broke contact with his skin he missed the touch instantly, but handed over the item with a small laugh about her decisiveness.

"Fine, but you wake me if you feel tired."

"Of course."

He sighed and placed his head against the back wall, allowing Kate to stay close to him still. He was about to close his eyes in order to relax his eyes from the constant staring, when he felt the change in her breathing. It was kind of ragged and it took him a few moments to register that she was trying not to cry.

"Hey…" he said, reaching for her, pulling her close. She resisted at first but after another gentle tug at her waist he had her close to him again. He could feel the slight tremble in her body as he stroke back her hair.

"I'm sorry." she said quietly.

"For what?" he asked genuinely astonished.

"For being so weak. I am slowing you down and I…"

"Stop it." Billy said firmly, his hand finding her cheek in the darkness, pulling her close to him. He knew the moment would come that even a fighter like Kate would break under the pressure. But they'd come so far and he was not letting her beat herself up like this. She needed to stay focused, she needed motivation.

"You are strong, Kate. Don't you ever question that, you hear me? I never would have imagined that we would come so far and it's mainly because of you. You sensed Silva's men coming yesterday morning, you saw the trip wire and you fought them when I couldn't." His thoughts wandered to last night and their situation very similar to their current. "How the hell did you even know that they were close?" he asked curiously.

"I don't know…" Kate mumbled, still speechless about the kindness of his words. She thought about his question for a while; then it hit her. "Birds… I couldn't her them. Animals tent to leave the area when men are around. I guess that's how I knew they were close."

"See." Billy chuckled softly. "I'd be dead by now if I hadn't you and your bat ears with me."

Kate smiled against his chest as she settled for her watch.

"Thanks." she whispered.

Even though she could not make out his features, she knew he was smiling as he bit her good night. Adjusting the night vision goggles, she felt him making himself comfortable for his nap. She took a deep breath as she thought about his words. He always seemed to find the right things to raise her spirits. And while feeling Billy's reassuring presence next to her, she took over the second part of the night watch.