Hi everyone! here's the quick update I promised. :)

Thanks so much for favoriting/following and especially to those who reviewed the first chapter-your words mean so much to me, thank you!

Hope you guys like chapter 2!

~cosette141

Parker was floating.

She's never felt so comfortable. She was lying on something soft and warm and she felt miles below reality. Like a dream. Exactly like a dream.

Her head felt a little fuzzy, though. Lighter. And for some reason, her arm was cold. Really cold. But she only snuggled up closer against the warm bed she'd apparently fallen asleep in. She tried to let the sleep claim her again. It was soft. Cozy.

But her arm was still freezing.

It was starting to be a problem and she frowned in her sleep, agitated. She tried to move her arm but realized she couldn't. And shortly after that she realized she was lying on it.

Suddenly, everything felt just a little more real. Sounds reached her ears; the sound of wind rustling bare branches and the occasional sound of some bird call. She was outside.

And her arm was cold.

Unable to bear it any longer, Parker opened her eyes, ready to move her arm out of whatever was freezing it. But her entire vision was obscured by black.

She panicked for a second until she realized it was black material—the material of a jacket. Her brows screwed up in confusion. She knew that jacket, she'd seen it before, but who…?

Eliot!

That was Eliot's jacket. But if that was Eliot's jacket, then…

Parker's eyes opened wider, and she looked up. And sure enough, it was Eliot. She could see his face clearly now. But his eyes were closed. He seemed to be sleeping. Unconscious, she amended. Eliot didn't sleep.

She was pressed firmly against his chest. She realized now the warmth and comfort she felt was because she'd been lying on top of him. She felt a pressure around her back; Eliot's arms. And…

Parker looked down, seeing her arm lying in the snow. Thaaaat explains it. She quickly pulled her arm back up, cradling it between her chest and Eliot's to warm it. Her glove was still on thankfully but even with a coat, lying in snow is cold.

What happened?

Her head felt light and fuzzy but didn't hurt. She didn't have a concussion; she knew what those felt like. So what…?

"An avalanche."

Eliot's words jumped into her mind. Her heart dropped. They were in an avalanche?! She tried to pull herself off of Eliot's chest but quickly found that she couldn't move. She tried again, but was practically stuck to the hitter. Her heart beat rapidly in sudden panic, never one to be held down or restrained. But it only took a moment for her to realize the rope that was keeping her and Eliot together had tangled around Eliot's wrists, tying her to him.

"El—" Parker coughed, her throat dry. She cleared it and tried again. "Eliot?"

She glanced up at his face, but he didn't move. Not even a twitch.

Suddenly she was even more panicked. Was he okay? Was he…?

His jacket was too thick to tell a rise or fall of his chest. Parker's heart thudded. "Eliot? Eliot!"

Nothing.

Her breath was gasping now. And she realized, again delayed, that it was the altitude. She had to calm down. "H-Hard… Hardison?" she asked, her voice quieted by both the hoarseness and the chatter of her teeth.

No response.

Cold again, Parker leaned back down over Eliot, huddling close to his warmth. His warmth. Parker's heart slowed a bit. If Eliot was dead, he wouldn't be this warm. He was alive.

He would be fine.

Taking a slow, deep breath, Parker lifted herself up again. She had to untangle herself from him, but without cutting the rope. Who knew if the worst of this avalanche was over. She couldn't risk losing Eliot.

It took her several minutes to finally untangle herself. She didn't want to risk removing her gloves. Once she was free, she pushed herself gently off the hitter.

Eliot was lying on his back in the snow. Parker grabbed his shoulder and shook it hard. "Eliot!"

Nothing.

Parker bit her lip. She then took off one of her gloves with her teeth and slipped her hand into Eliot's coat, to rest it on his chest. She waited an agonizingly long moment until she felt it rise. Parker breathed a sigh of relief, then zipped him back up and put her glove back on.

Parker sat back on the heels of her boots and looked around. There was snow everywhere. White covered everything. She looked up, squinting against the still bright sky. Why hadn't the avalanche buried them like Eliot said it would? Why…

Oh. Parker's gaze stopped at the drop off nearly fifty feet, maybe a hundred, above them. They must have fallen off and the avalanche didn't follow. Well, thank god for that.

Parker shivered violently. She was lightheaded and freezing. And hungry. But she didn't want to think about that. And above all, she was on her own. She gave another look down at the unresponsive hitter, feeling a deep sense of fear in her gut. Seeing him so still was unsettling.

She looked around. They needed shelter. Now. It would be night soon and they wouldn't make it through to the morning stuck out here.

Parker's eyes cast over the wall of the mountain until—there! Less than a hundred feet away stood the half concealed opening of an ice cave. She just had to get them there.

Parker got unsteadily to her feet. She glanced back down at Eliot. He still hadn't moved. Parker shoved down her worry. Tune out the distractions and do the job. She bent down and linked her arms under Eliot's shoulders. She hoisted him up and began to drag him.

It was slower going than she thought it would be. He was heavy as it was and the snow was doing her no favors. Parker got about halfway across before she swayed, her head spinning from lack of oxygen. She fell to one knee and breathed hard. Slow. Breathe slow. After a moment it settled and she stood back up. A tree stood right next to her. A hazy idea formed and she took off her mask and laid it firmly on one of the branches. When the rescue teams came looking, might as well leave a trail.

"Hardison?" she tried again. Nothing but static in her ear. They must be too far out of range. Or he was. Parker's brows kneaded. She looked back down at Eliot, who she'd gathered back up in her arms. She wished that he would wake up. She didn't want to do this alone.

Parker set out for the cave again, trudging through the snow. After what felt like hours, she finally made it, pulling Eliot the last few feet into the cave, and collapsing to the ground.

It was a small area. It looked like it was made for exactly what she was using it for. It went about ten feet inward, six or so feet wide. Enough to shield from the cold. She silently thanked whoever dug this out.

Parker laid Eliot against the wall. She could feel him shivering beneath her fingers. She knelt next to him and shook him again. Hard. "Eliot!" She shook him again. Called his name. Shook him. Called his name.

She didn't know how long she repeated the pattern. But finally, Eliot flinched away from her grip. His face screwed up in a grimace and he growled.

Parker's face lit up.

She couldn't help herself; she hugged him as tight as she could. "You're alive!"

"P—" Eliot coughed. He jerked as she embraced him, but didn't shake her off. "P-Parker?" he asked through a chatter of teeth.

Parker didn't release him. His voice sounded so good. So good. Like home. Like safe. She just hugged him tighter and whispered, "You're okay."

"P-Parker, wh-what happened?"

"There was an avalanche," she reminded him quietly.

Eliot swore under his breath. "You okay, darlin? H-How'd we get i-in here?"

"I woke up," said Parker. "You didn't. You wouldn't. I dragged you in here."

"You did?"

Parker pulled away from him then, to look at his face. He was looking at her with surprise and shock. "Yeah. Why?"

Eliot shook himself slightly. "Well, thanks."

Parker smiled.

"But you shoulda left me."

Parker looked at him like he was stupid. "Left you? Why would I do that? You're like a heater! I'm not leaving you out there."

Despite it all, Eliot cracked a small smile. "Well if that's why ya did it, then all right." He looked around. "What is this place?"

"Man made ice cave," said Parker. "We must have f-fallen off a dr-drop off, u-up th-there," she said, pointing up above them, suddenly freezing and shaking again.

Eliot's face creased. He reached for her. "Parker, c'mere." He pulled her in toward him. His warmth spread to her again and she leaned into it. Safe. Home.

"Hardison?" said Eliot suddenly.

"They're not answering," said Parker quietly.

Eliot swore again. They both sat in silence for a long moment.

"Eliot?"

"Yeah?"

"Are we gonna be okay?"

Eliot didn't say anything. Parker waited for his response, all too aware of the conversation they had about doing things the others couldn't.

"Yeah."

Parker looked up at him in surprise. "You think so?"

He leveled her with a firm gaze. "I'm gonna make sure of it."

And he hugged her tighter to him. Parker closed her eyes to the warmth and sank into it, letting the blessed dark and comfort take her away.

Eliot was still in their silence. He was thinking. And it was in the middle of those thoughts that Parker's weight suddenly became heavier. She'd fallen asleep.

His heart picking up, he shifted, but then leaned back against the wall. She'd be fine for now. She was only asleep and he would wake her up soon to make sure she didn't… stay that way. It was a little unsettling how quickly she did fall asleep, though, but, he figured, the altitude and her exertion of energy was probably enough to put anyone out. He had no idea how long she'd dragged him to get here.

Dragged him.

Eliot shut his eyes, hitting his head against the wall of the cave hard enough to hurt. He'd been stupid enough to let the damned mountain knock him unconscious, for Parker, Parker, to feel like she needed to save him. He couldn't honestly believe she did it. Without her forcing him awake, he didn't know how long he would have been out of it. And in this situation, out there in the snow, it would have been too long. He would have died and he knew it.

It wasn't as though that bothered him—the fact that he would have died, and still might. That was only a possibility he carried with him to every job. He knew the consequences of being a hitter, a retrieval specialist, a soldier. He'd been somewhere like this, trapped and helpless and lost, in worst conditions than the one he was in now. But unlike nearly every one of those situations, he had something now that he had never had before.

Someone to look after him.

And he didn't like it.

That was him. He was the guy who looked after everyone else. Whether it be his brothers from the Service, innocent people needing saving, or this bunch of hoohahs he managed to find four years ago. And the one who risked their neck to save someone else was the one at risk to get hurt. To get killed. Eliot looked down at Parker.

He would not let her be that person.

No one needed to risk themselves for him. He almost laughed. For him? He wasn't… he wasn't worth it. Not her life. Not anyone else's. He didn't… deserve it. It was more than he deserved. Too much damned more.

Well, it wouldn't happen again. Eliot rubbed his face with a gloved hand, wincing at the ice crusted on the material as it scratched his face. He was awake and alert and he was going to take control of this situation. This was his job. His turf. And he was going to make sure he got Parker home safe no matter the cost. She's done far more than enough.

His head was spinning slightly and his balance was still off, which was slightly worrisome. He was dehydrated and must have hit his head somewhere on the way down here. It wasn't a bad concussion, he didn't think, anyway, but it was hard to gauge anything when it was so damned cold.

"Nate?" asked Eliot to the air. He waited, listening to the static in his ear. He cursed under his breath. Best case scenario: they were simply just out of range, and Hardison would give one of the comms to the rescue crews when they went out and that would put them back in range and back on Hardison's map.

But there was no telling when those crews would be sent out.

Eliot shifted his position again, his leg cramping. It was mixing between feeling numb and cold, almost like… pain. But even the shift in position didn't manage to wake the sleeping limb. He tried to shake out his right leg.

A scream rose up in his throat but he caught it just in time, clamping a gloved hand over his mouth and stopping his movement at once. Pain shot up through his leg from his shin all the way to his hip. Agony burned underneath his skin. Agony that had been resting dormant under his numb skin.

After a few harsh breaths, Eliot slowly lowered his hand and looked at his leg. He could see it now; it was lying at a strange angle. It was broken in at least one place, probably more. The pain was numbing down again. Finally, something good coming from sitting on ice.

Eliot shut his eyes and dropped his head back, trying to shove his fury and fear deep within him. He couldn't lose the use of his leg. Not now. Not today. The loose plan he had been coming up with involved them leaving this cave and walking back toward the camps. To at least find shelter closer to Nate and the others. But without one leg, he'd need help from Parker, and that was the last thing he wanted to do. Going that slow wouldn't be fast enough anyway and they'd most likely just end up getting altitude sickness somewhere out in the open in the snow.

Eliot tried to fight the growing sense of dread. Without contact with the others, no one one will find them. He had a hard time thinking that the crews were going to realize they fell over this drop off.

They had to get in contact with Hardison, or they were dead.