Two chapters in two days! It must be a freakin' miracle, right? XD Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-five

For a short moment, all the Gravedigger could do was watch in utter disbelief and shock at the river of snow cascading down the mountainside at a seemingly impossible speed. When he finally snapped out of it, his first response was to turn back to the dimwitted soldier that caused all this and finish him off...but Temperance was already racing in the opposite direction, back to her own troop, signaling them to run away.

"Go!" she shouted at them. "Go now! There's an avalanche!"

Booth stared at her for a moment, not sure what she was saying, but then one glance at the mountains behind her had him ordering his troops to drop everything and retreat. "Share horses!" he ordered. "No man left behind! Come on, now! Let's go!"

The men obeyed immediately, a few running towards Wendell, trying to mount him, but he began running towards Temperance before they even had him in their grasp. Temperance ran towards him and they met somewhere in the middle, her jumping right onto his back and ordering him to follow the rest of the troop in retreat, glancing back to see that the snow was moving in on them, and fast.

The Gravedigger and his men were being engulfed one by one in the blanket that was ascending upon them, and only the Gravedigger himself and a couple of his soldiers were left, and gaining on her, raising bows to shoot at her.

Temperance ducked both arrows and urged Wendell to go faster. Ever the over-achiever, Wendell pushed himself to go as fast as he possibly could and soon they were caught up with the rest of the troop, dodging more arrows that were coming from both sides now. Wendell galloped until he was running right next to Booth's horse, Camille, and Booth, who was shooting arrow after arrow at the Gravedigger.

"Booth!" Temperance called out. Booth glanced at her with an annoyed, questioning look. "The bridge up ahead, it'll collapse with the weight of all this snow, but there's a large hill just to the left of it. If we can just lead the troop there, we'll be high enough not to be affected by it."

"And if we don't?"

"We'll either suffocate in all the snow or fall to our deaths in the ravine. Your choice."

Booth nodded and signaled Camille to start turning to the left, not enough so that they'd be in danger of getting caught in the snow, but enough so that they were moving towards the large hill. The rest of the men followed without question, while the Gravedigger and his men fought to catch up with them while battling the river of snow at their heels. Literally.

After a couple of moments, Temperance finally spotted the bridge and the hill right next to it and began to race towards it, while the rest of the men followed after her, all of them piling on the very top with their horses, praying that her plan worked.

And it did.

As the snow rushed towards them (with no sign of the Gravedigger or his men), it barely even came close to them before rushing over the edge of the cliff just behind the tall hill. Temperance and Booth stood at the very top at that hill and just looked at each other in surprise for a few moments, before smiles broke out on both faces and they just began to laugh. For no apparent reason other than plain relief that they weren't killed.

The rest of their troop looked at them like they were crazy, which made them laugh harder, before their eyes suddenly locked at the laughing began to die down to soft chuckles as their throats constricted and their mouths dried, and their stomachs began to flutter, a not-unfamiliar feeling over the last few weeks.

And, for the first time in weeks, Temperance noticed that Booth was looking at her with deep respect and...something else that she couldn't quite identify, for she had never seen that look on anybody's face before. Temperance wondered what it was.

But her thoughts were interrupted, when the man in question said her name, softly and almost endearingly. "Bones...I..." whatever he said was cut short by the feeling of something pulling him from behind, effectively shutting off his air supply and pulling him back.

Temperance gasped and reached from his hand, pulling him back to her. "Booth!" she called out in surprise, tugging on his hand, as she tried to figure out what was going on.

Then she saw him; the Gravedigger. He was holding onto Booth's cape, attempting to pull him down with him as he fell, a look of utter hatred etched in his eyes, the only visible part of his face, as he struggled not to let go.

Temperance immediately realized that her holding onto Booth would only increase the pressure on his throat, but she couldn't bear to let him go. Quickly, she turned to where Vincent was sitting on a large gray horse and ordered him to throw his dagger to her. He did so with little resistance and she caught it with ease, immediately using it to slice Booth's cape, causing him to fall forward and the Gravedigger to fall into the snowy abyss below, a cry of outrage the last thing to leave his lips before he sunk into the cold, white water.

As Booth regained his breath and his head cleared, he looked up at his savior, smiling at her as his heart began to pound in his chest. "Bones..." he said, grinning. "You...you saved me. How can I ever repay you?"

Temperance smiled back at him, beginning to feel wobbly for some unbeknownst reason, and suddenly fell to the ground in a heap as all the blood began to rush to her head and sound in her ears.

"Bones!" Booth exclaimed, kneeling at her side at once. "Bones, what's...?" His eyes went to the cut on her stomach and his heart nearly stopped. "Somebody get help!" he cried out, looking up at his soldiers. "He's hurt! Go get help! NOW!"

A few of the men immediately raced off in the direction of the village a few miles away, looking for a doctor of some kind, while Booth turned back to Temperance. "Don't worry, Bones." He soothed. "It's all right. Everything's gonna be just fine. Just hang in there, Bones. Bones. Just hang in there..."

His voice began to fade out as Temperance's whole world went black.

I know Booth and Brennan's baby's name! And I won't tell you until I get at least NINE reviews this chapter!