"Okay, this is fine. Just rip the bandage off like a bandaid. A really big bandaid. That covers half my thigh. Yeah, no big deal." Sitting on the bed in only a t-shirt and underwear, it was painfully obvious the state her leg was in. Despite showering almost constantly to keep it clean and dressing it twice a day, it never got easier. Looking at the blood crusted bandage clinging to her thigh caused bile to rise to the back of her throat.

Gingerly she picked at the corner of the bandage that had come untucked - until stabbing needles of pain crawled along her thigh, embedding themselves deep. With a hiss Sam dropped her hand. "Shit."

From the other side of the bed, curled under a heap of pillows dug out from the depths of the closet, Josh watched. One hand reached out as if to help - but then he gave his clawed fingers a half-hearted glare as he drew them back.

She smiled fondly over at him. It was sweet how he wanted to help, unfortunate that his current condition stopped him. Not unfortunate for her - although it would have been great not doing this herself - but for him. He was coming back to her, but physically he remained the same.

Damn, she had missed him though. Every day he seemed a little better, a little more lucid - and every day Sam felt more whole. Like she was finally finding something she hadn't even realised was missing.

Letting her dark eyes drift from him to the mess of blood and bandages on her leg, Sam groaned. "Maybe I'll do it later."

Josh just quirked a brow - which was weirdly cute, considering half of one was a scarred up mess. "Baby," he shot, lips quirking up, "managed yesterday."

Which was fair. In her defence, yesterday had been a whole different day with it's own issues to conquer. Today had no great catastrophe to occupy her mind. "Yeah well, who was a big baby when I tried to clean his face? Oh, that was you! Don't be a hypocrite." There was no menace behind her voice, just a gentle teasing that she had missed. It was almost like old times. "I'll get around to it. Eventually. Maybe tonight?" Glancing down, Sam's lips curled.

As she reached over to grab her jeans from their place hanging over the end of the bed, Josh reached out. He didn't quite touch her - he never did, never initiated the contact - but a skinny hand hovered by her shoulder as he regarded her sternly. "Do it now."

"You just like seeing me in my underwear," Sam huffed, carefully sliding off the bed to awkwardly stumble into her jeans.

She was too busy wrestling with them to notice the way Josh's face flushed, but she did notice the stutter in his voice as he haltingly shot back, "who wouldn't, Giddings."

Ducking her head, Sam let her blonde hair fall - shielding the vibrant red dusting her cheeks. She didn't allow herself to wonder why that simple statement had gotten to her so much - it wasn't like Josh had never flirted with her before, he flirted with everyone. But now was not the time to dwell on her growing feelings for him.

"I'm going to go get breakfast. Do you want anything - or will another rabbit do you just fine?" Her eyes sparkled as she grinned over at him, lips curling in a teasing sort of way. "Just don't make such a mess this time."

Josh might have winced, but it was difficult to tell with all of those teeth sticking out of his face. He just shuffled awkwardly, somehow managing to burrow further underneath the immense pile of pillows.

Bad move, Sammy. He was dealing with this incredibly well - but how would she have liked it if he had joked about something like this? God, she didn't even want to know how many layers of trauma he wasn't allowing her to see. Just thinking about what he he must have been feeling - now, all those months ago at the reunion, the first time around when he had seen his sisters sprint off into the darkness and never return...

Shivering, Sam drew her arms around herself. They were going to need to talk about all of that, but not now. When both of them were a little less fragile.

Instead she plastered a smile on her face, ignoring how it felt stiff on her lips. "I'm just messing, Josh. You can eat whatever - as long as I don't have to clean up. I might be a Wendigo fighting badass, but I'm still a very squeamish vegan." Leaning over the bed she ghosted a kiss across his cheek - only to pause as she drew back. Since when had she started kissing him? Just a peck, sure, but it was still a kiss.

Her chest thudded and she hoped Josh couldn't hear her quickening heartbeat at the contact. Jumping to her feet Sam cast him one last awkward smile as she headed for the refuge of the living room.

God, why did she have to be such an awkward loser? Things had always been so easy between them - even now, strained by what they had been through, she had expected them to fall back into their old ways. This though, this was new. Good or bad, it was impossible to know.

Lunch. Lunch would take her mind off of it. Striding into the - now thankfully blood free - kitchen, a quick round of the fridge and cupboards confirmed they were low on supplies. The Washington's always kept their holiday getaways stocked with non-perishables - she had always assumed it was for those impromptu holidays where they just turned up for a day or two. If they were low though, that meant going home soon.

Christ, she had actually forgotten that they were eventually going back to California.

She settled for something quick - a tin of soup, something she had always thought the Washingtons were too good for. It taste fine though, after she had dumped in a generous amount of pepper and a tiny bit of paprika she found in one of the cupboards.

It wasn't until she settled down on the sofa, piping hot bowl of soup clasped gratefully in her hands, that she realised Josh hadn't followed her through. "Hey," she called, stretching to try and peer into the bedroom, "are you coming through?"

There was a dull non-committal groan before the shuffle of fabric falling to the floor. Moments later Josh ambled into the room, back hunched, long legs bent in that weird way Sam was starting to get used to. It had stopped being strange a long time ago - in fact, the way it made him sway gently was kind of cute.

Sam smiled as she watched him; until her eyes reached his face. Instantly her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach. "What's wrong?"

He just shrugged in response and curled up on the sofa beside her, head tucked underneath his arm in a way that was distinctly not human but totally Josh.

"Talk to me Josh," Sam replied. Soup forgotten, Sam set it down on the floor by her side so she could place both hands on Josh's arm, gently easing him closer. "What happened in the thirty seconds it took me to microwave lunch?"

Still no response. After their talk yesterday she had assumed everything was out in the open - apparently not. Sucking in a breath Sam fought down the irrational coldness in her belly, the disappointment that she had failed to see the truth again, just as she always did. This was not about her. It never was.

As Sam's hand drifted up his arm, settling on his shoulder with a light squeeze, Josh tensed. "Don't," he muttered quietly, turning away from her. The sofa wasn't big - just a leather three-seater - so there wasn't much room to move. He tried, though, pressing himself into the soft cushions.

With a tiny sigh, Sam dropped her hand. The coldness was spreading, permeating through her skin until she swore she was actually lowering the temperature of the room.

He would talk when he was ready - which for Josh could be anything from five minutes to six months. At least this was better than the sudden violent outbursts down in the mines; Josh kicking and screaming obscenities, lashing out instead of just explaining. It wasn't his fault, she was selfish for blaming him when they had failed him just as much but...

The soup was still cooling on the floor, but Sam's hunger had left her. Instead there was just a dull hollowness carved into her stomach. Nudging the bowl out of the way, Sam hoisted herself to her feet. "I'm going to take a walk before it gets dark. I'll be back in an hour." This was unfair - she knew that, but she couldn't help the snappish tone to her voice as she spoke.

She was half way through wrestling with the tangled lace of a boot before she heard scuffling, sharp talons against wood. Immediately she tensed - but then Josh's lanky torso slipped into view as he slinked over to the door. "I'll come," he said simply; though he didn't look at her.

Her eyes drifted over to him; and just like that any trace of irritation vanished. He was trying so hard to keep it together - and here she was being a jerk about it. Nice one Sam. Her hands kept fumbling to untangle her lace but she stopped paying attention, mind focused entirely on Josh. "Hey, I'm sorry I snapped at you. Maybe some exercise will put me in a better mood."

Although he still wasn't facing her, Sam saw a smile curl at the corner of his jagged cheeks. She found herself with a matching grin slowly making its way across her face.

It took another minute or two to get her shoes on, but soon enough she had thrown her thick fur coat around herself - fake fur, of course - and was ready to go.

Outside, with the cold biting her nose and wind twisting her hair high above her head, Sam felt like she was in another universe. Pure white stretched on forever, a snowy plain untouched. It was amazing how the most dangerous places were often the most beautiful.

The wind latched onto her arms, clamping down with icy hands and she wrapped her arms tightly around herself in a futile attempt to stave off the cold. "Shit, I didn't realise it was so cold. The cabin keeps in so much heat, even with a shattered window."

Beside her, Josh seemed completely at home in the winter weather. Bare feet crunched on hard-packed snow as if it was a nice sandy beach.

As if by a psychic link - which Jess had always joked about them having - Josh turned and said, "Wendigo don't feel cold."

He wasn't technically a full Wendigo, but that didn't seem important to mention. He was Wendigo enough. Which, really, was just one of a hundred things they needed to talk about.

No time like the present. What was the worst that could happen?

"Hey Josh," she broached the subject carefully, kicking a stone out of the way as her boots sunk into the snow, "there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about. Well several things, but this one is kind of pressing."

Milky eyes blinked owlishly at her - and it was just Josh, her best friend since she was eleven, but with the snow falling and dusting his face with specks of white he looked breathtaking. Haunting. For a moment the air left her lungs.

"What?" he questioned, head tilting to the side.

Sam's pulse hammered as her eyes flicked up to his. Clear blue and shining white. What was wrong with her? "Uh," she stuttered - and her voice sounded even more slurred than Josh's half-formed words. "Just... about going home."

Although the snow was slippery, Josh was eerily fluid as he stepped back, eyes wide. "Home?"

"Yeah. There's only a couple of days food left in the pantry, and mum's going to expect me back sometime." Hell, she had never figured out a proper excuse for her sudden 'holiday'. "Besides, you're parents - and Chris, and even Ash - are desperate to see you." Sam placed a soft hand against his shoulder - yes, she had to reach up much farther than she remembered - and gave a gentle squeeze.

He didn't flinch away from her touch, but he tensed as her fingers began tracing slow circles over his protruding collar bone. "Ash? After..." he trailed off, eyes dropping to the snowy ground beneath him.

It was a long way until Ash - or anyone, really - forgave him for what he did. But everyone was trying. "Hey, we've all missed you. I'm not saying it's going to be easy, but we all have each other's backs. Even Emily and Jess are friends again, so that proves it." She smiled up at him, corners of her mouth hesitantly twitching upwards. "You deserve a second chance. We all messed up, so why should you be the only one punished?"

Spindly fingers twitched, sharp nails digging into Josh's hand so fiercely Sam saw blood beginning to well in his palms. "I don't deserve it! They fucked up, but I made it worse. Now I'm like - like this, just as messed up on the outside as I am inside."

Sam opened her mouth to speak, but the only thing to leave her lips was a gasp lost to the roaring wind. She didn't realise until a moment later that she had stopped in her tracks, feet sinking further into the deep snow. "Josh, I-"

"You should leave me here."

Before Sam could utter a single word, Josh wrenched himself from her gentle touch, spun on his heels - and sprinted away with such frightening speed that the snow swallowed him up within seconds.

She was left staring at his trail of bare footprints, calling out his name. Only the wind answered.