Author's Note: Hey to all of my readers who actually take the time to look at my author's notes! Thanks for that! Lol so anyway, I'll say what I normally say: Please review, check out shiqi98's AMAZING Kickin' It story, and PLEASE VOTE on who is winning our shout-out war! There is a poll set up on her profile and mine! Thank you and on to the story!

Kim's POV

As soon as I get over to where James is, he sees me and gives me a small smile, even though there are tear tracks on his face and he is far from happy. He wraps me in a hug, and although I am a little surprised at first, I hug him back; I'm upset, he's upset, so why not? "Hey, Kim sweetie, are you okay?" he asks after pulling away.

Swiping at the tears stains on my cheeks in an attempt to wipe them away, I say, "Yeah, I guess so; are you?"

Giving me a sad smile, he says, "I've been better."

That was pretty much the extent of our conversation, because some of the officers came up to us and said that they were ready to start the search; there were 2 different groups heading into the woods, so I went with one and he went with the other so there was someone in both groups who knew what Jack and Erin looked like. James's group heads left and the one I am in turns right, looking for any sign of Jack and little Erin; there wasn't any. It begins to get dark out soon, and I am getting more and more frustrated.

After about 10 more minutes, I decide that it would be better for me to search alone; I tell the cop nearest to me that I am splitting off from the group and walk away. The guy seems very immersed in whatever he is doing, and I'm not even positive that he heard me, but I'm not very concerned with that right now. I am starting to feel like the search is getting hopeless when I hear what sounds like a cough, but then abrupt silence. I walk in the direction that I heard it, cracking a twig in the process. Then, before I have time to react, a rock flies out of nowhere and hits my shoulder, and then I feel myself being kicked down to the ground.

I let out a slight cry of pain, and then hear, "Wait, Kim?" I'd know the voice anywhere; it's Jack's. One of his strong arms, (he is holding a sleeping Erin in the other) he reaches down and grabs my hand, pulling me up off of the ground. He coughs again, and then says, "Kimmy, I'm so sorry, I thought you were Frank and-"

I cut him off with a kiss to the lips, and even though I get a burnt, ashy taste in my mouth, I don't pull away until he does, coughing for the third time. I look at him in concern. "Jack, I was so worried about you! Are you okay? You sure don't sound like it," I say, crossing my arms. He shushes me and grabs my arm, pulling me behind the bushes he had been hiding behind before I came along.

Once I am sitting down next to him there, he whispers to me, "Kimmy, you have to be quiet; Frank and some of his friends are close by looking for me, and there is no way I can *cough* fight them off." His coughing is starting to worry me, and I'm wondering if he inhaled too much smoke and if it caused any damage to his lungs. He seems to be breathing kind of shakily, and I can hear the slight moans of pain he lets out every time he lets out another cough.

"Why are they looking for you, Jack?" I ask him.

"They thought I wouldn't make it out of the house when they set it on fire – when I did, they were really angry. Frank managed to kick me a few times before I got away into the woods; they've been looking for me since, because every now and then I hear them or catch a glimpse of them, but I've managed to stay out of sight."

"Oh my God, Jack; that's awful. Listen, though: there are two groups of police currently searching for you and Erin; we just have to find them and we're good! Do you have any idea where we are?"

Even in the dark, I can see his expression fall as he looks around and obviously realizes that he has no idea where we are. "Kimmy, I have no clue *cough.* Do you?"

Reluctantly, I admitted that I had no idea where we were either. Putting on a brave face, Jack says that we will have to stay in the woods until morning, and then we can find our way back when it's light out. I point out the flaw to this: "Jack, didn't you say that Frank and the Black Dragons are still looking for you?"

"Yeah, but knowing Frank they'll give up soon and head home," Jack responds; his voice cracks a little, and he coughs again, this time for longer. I see him desperately try to hold it in, and the pain that flickers across his face, even though I can't see much in the almost complete darkness. Jack hands the baby over to me so that he doesn't wake her as the coughing rack his body.

I know that something must be wrong with him, and I know that he needs help. I just hope that he will make it through the night okay.

Author's Note: I want to apologize – I know that this chapter is very short, and on top of that I feel like I didn't do the best job on it. I struggled a little with this chapter, so please bear with me! Thank you!