Nina walked down the crevice away from the others. They had just finished lunch and the guide had given them the go ahead to explore freely, as long as their digital trackers were on. A quick check on her phone and she confirmed her little dot on the map of the caves. She knew it was best to travel in pairs, but she had done the larger caves before and had come to look at the smaller ones.

Nina ran her hand gently along the rock, looking at the striations in the light of her headtorch. Her family had always thought her fascination with rocks and geology weird, but then she didn't see the world as disposable as they did. Nina valued the resources held within the Earth, but not to the point that they should destroy it. The rock dipped, and Nina had to duck low for the next twenty meters before she had to climb up to the cavern aptly named, The Grand Passageway. Nina walked the entire length of the passageway before twisting sideways down a thin tunnel to The Seamstresses' Tomb. Most people passed on visiting the Tomb, but Nina had to come see the fine stalagmites and stalactites which had formed in the cavern.

It was while standing in The Tomb that the rock shook. Nina wobbled, and in the shaking light of her headtorch, saw a crack forming in the ceiling above. Twisting, she headed to the exit, only to trip over in the dark. She felt the sharp tip of a stalagmite run along her side as she fell and winced in pain as the headtorch hit the wall ramming it into her skull. Her body crumpled to the floor.

Nina blinked. It was pitch black. The rock had stopped shaking but reaching up to her head, she felt the broken front of the torch. Flipping the switch a few times confirmed it was dead. Feeling the floor around her, she found a good place to put her hands and tried to sit up. Pain shot up her leg and along her side, causing her to flop back down on the ground. Nina reach into her pocket. She felt for her phone only to feel the cracks on the screen. Carefully she pulled it out. Nina pushed the power button, but nothing happened. Great, it was dead so no calling for help. She hoped the tracker was still working. Nina reached around and pulled the small pack from her back. She took out the emergency kit and felt for the light. She turned it on, and the Tomb lit up. She looked over her shoulder. Nina could see the rock trapping her feet. Nina wiggled her toes and was relieved that she could still feel them, which meant the rocks were just pinning rather than crushing her, which was a relief. She fetched her water bottle from her pack and had a drink to clean the dust from her mouth, and settled down, ready to wait for someone to find her.

The noise startled Nina. She lifted her head to see a light entering the cavern. Nina had to squint as it beamed into her eyes, but relief filled her body. As the light moved closer, Nina could make out the vague form of a man below it through the tears that slipped from her eyes.

"Virgil Tracy, International Rescue. Everything's going to be okay."

Her rescuer placed a hand on her shoulder. His face slowly came into focus and Nina smiled at him, noting that he smiled back. She blinked as he moved the light, which was on one of his broad shoulders, out of her eyes. Nina's heart skipped a beat. Surely it was illegal for someone that handsome to be in the rescue business? It was her light that lit up his face, allowing her to gaze into his chocolate brown eyes.

"N…N…Nina."

Nina swallowed as heat spread across to her face. Although she was sure many women stammered and blushed when he came to rescue them, she still wished she hadn't.

"Okay Nina. Just lie still while I scan you for any injuries before I move the rock that is pinning you."

Nina lay still and watched his face as he concentrated on checking her over. His brown hair was styled, and his jawline was sculpted, making her want to stroke her fingers down in. His uniform was close-fitting, allowing her to see every bulging muscle. From this angle his arms were thick, and she enjoyed the way they moved as he waved the scanner over her body.

"Looks like you're fine apart from the gash on your side. I'll see if I can't move this rock and well get you bandaged up and out of here."

Nina observed Virgil as he turned to the rock. He crouched down to find a grip on the rock, and Nina was glad the scanner had been put away. There was no way she could hide the increased heart rate brought about by the fabulous pair of buttocks that she now had a prime view of. Her rescuer lifted the rock which allowed Nina to pull her feet free. She twisted her body and sat up. Virgil was at her feet almost immediately. He inspected her legs, his hands gripping them lightly, before placing them carefully back down.

"No wounds, but there's going to be some serious bruising later. You are lucky no bones were broken. Now, if you don't mind, may I lift you top and quickly clean that gash?"

"Please do."

Nina took a deep breath as Virgil came closer. He slipped a small medical kit from one of the compartments on his belt and placed it beside him. Replacing his blue gloves with disposable medical ones, he carefully lifted the left side of her T-shirt. Nina winced as he pulled the fabric out of the wound.

"Could you hold you top up for me?
Nina placed her hand over his, before he pulled his away to let her hold the fabric he had been holding.

"This is going to hurt, but it should clean the wound and stop any infections."

The cold wipe was placed against her skin and brushed gently over the gash. The pain was sudden, and Nina gasped and screwed up her face. The pain dulled as she felt gentle fingers pressed a dressing to her side. She opened her eyes and looked at Virgil at the same time as he lifted his head to look at her.

"All done. Now let's get you out of here."

Nina dropped her top and released the breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding. He removed the medical gloves to reveal large hands which Nina wanted to get to know intimately. The dexterity he displayed as he nimbly packed everything away left Nina staring. The last thing he did before standing, was to pull the protective gloves back on. He towered above her and offered out his hand, which she took. He easily pulled Nina to her feet. Pain throbbed in her ankles, causing her to crumple. A hand under her arm kept her on her feet, though it didn't stop her sucking in a pained breath.

"The bruising is pretty bad. Are you sure you're okay to walk?"

Nina nodded through the pain. How else were they meant to get through the narrow tunnels if she wasn't walking? Opening her eyes, Nina took a step forward, Virgil's hand still under her armpit. Her ankles complained but she stayed upright. Her next step fell on uneven ground, twisting her ankle and forcing Virgil to keep her standing again.

"That's enough. You can't walk."

With that Nina felt his hand move around her back and his other arm behind her knees. Before she could say anything, she was in his arms, and she felt the blush in her cheeks. Nina's arm automatically reached around his back. He carried her to the entrance of the Tomb, each of his steps caused her uninjured side to rub against his chest. Nina was thankful his concentration was on the narrow path, as she was sure her cheeks were beetroot red from the contact. His pecks were firm, just like the arm muscles she'd been admiring earlier and now felt against her back. His shoulder was strong beneath the grip of her hand, and she felt safe despite the circumstances. As the cave narrowed, Nina pressed her head into his shoulder, to reduce the likelihood of it hitting the rock. She was surprised at how he carried her even through the lower sections, with barely a grunt. Nina observed his face throughout the journey, his brown eyes looked ahead, his face a mask of concentration. Nina resisted the urge to touch the five o'clock shadow that covered his jaw, as well as the urge to wrap her arms around his neck and hold him close.

He carried Nina the whole way down The Grand Passageway and out into the cavern where she'd last seen her group. There was another rescuer standing in the middle of the cave, surrounded by equipment. He was dressed in the same uniform, except his belt was yellow. Nina was lowered onto a stretcher and the other rescuer came over and smiled at her.

"Hi, I'm Gordon. I'll be taking you from here. Virgil, there is another rock slide blocking the way to the last two people. Would you mind using the exosuit to free them?"

"Of course. You're in safe hands, Nina. Gordon here is going to take you back to Thunderbird Two, so we can transport you to hospital with the rest of your group."

Nina's heart sank at the prospect of saying goodbye to her rescuer, her body already feeling cold without his warmth against her. But she smiled at him and nodded.

"Thank you, Virgil."

"You're welcome."

Nina watched as he disappeared down the tunnel and fought the sigh she wanted to release. Gordon started guiding the holostretcher in the other direction, towards the cave system's entrance. Nina lay back and smiled. What dreams she was going to have tonight!