Disclaimer: I'm broke.

Author's Notes: Thanks for the feedback, but right now I'm in real need for suggestion on how to write Asuka. She (At least for me) is very hard to write; I found I have difficulty writing her without making her out like the all time evil bitch from hell. (Though that would be kind of funny) Anyways this next chapter will have some very embarrassing parts for Shinji and Rei. Let me tell you now everything that is going to happen with them (and you'll know when you read it) is actually honest to goodness first aid. (And the crowd goes "Huh?") And finally we will meet the new pilot, but something is very wrong with this kid. Please keep those suggestions and reviews coming.

Chapter 7 Snow blindness...

The trip down to the range was a short one but bumpy nonetheless. Misato's hand hurt so did Ritsuko's; Kaji on the other hand had a painful ear where Misato had twisted it.

"Do you have to twist so hard" he whined.

"Oh shut up" When they finally arrived the driver pointed out the pilot.

"There he is" He pointed at a boy who was looking away from them, he was wearing what seemed to be a black military uniform complete with a Kevlar vest and Tactical helmet at his side. Sunglasses covered his eyes while everything that could be used in combat covered the rest of his body.

'These pilot's are getting weirder and weirder' Ritsuko mused. Next to the boy stood a girl in a similar uniform minus all the combat equipment and holding a clipboard. Misato approached the two.

"Hello there I am Major Katsuragi, your new superior officer while at Nerv" she extended her hand while the boy just looked at her eventually he shook her hand.

The girl perked up and flashed a very dazzling smile, "Hello ma'am my name is Natsumi Tatsuko, oh and please forgive him he doesn't speak Japanese very well" The Major smiled in understanding and switched to her very best English.

"So this is the Great uum err... wait a minute your file didn't have a name in it" Misato was confused.

"Oh that, that's a delicate matter, you should ask Major Jerrett"

"Oh ok..." 'No name that's weird' "Then what do we call you then?"

"Artair" He spoke finally.

"Artair?"

"Artair Two One"

"Huh? Uum ok then" 'Freeaky'

"Well shall we then?" Natsumi said cheerfully. The three departed the course and met up with the others. Misato introduced the adults first then the Children.

"...and these are two of the children, first this is Rei Ayanami and this is Shin..."

"Shinji Ikari, designated pilot of Eva Unit-01. The Third Child. Killed 7 Angels unassisted. Rei Ayanami, designated pilot of Eva Unit-00. The First Child. Killed 2 Angels unassisted. Self-destructed her Eva to kill one of them" Everyone present stared at him except Natsumi, "I read the reports"

"Of course... well then Miss Tatsuko may I inquire what you do?"

"I'm the lieutenant that was designated to handle the two pilots' administrative work." She said cheerfully.

"A bit young aren't ya?" said Ritsuko impressed.

"I'm 17" Natsumi said with a hint of annoyance and a frown on her face.

They preceded on to go meet the Colonel one last time before they were under way. Shinji was sitting outside pondering this new pilot.

'He seems all right but he is kind of scary, with all those weapons and such. I'm sure he's a great guy, I just got to get to know him that's all' His thought shifted to what happened the night before. 'I have been thinking about that all day... I'm such a pervert' during his self- belittling the girl in question sat down a few feet from him regarding the environment. She sighed earning the attention of Shinji.

"What's wrong?"

"So dead" Shinji looked at her questionably. "The land here is dead" She picked up a handful of sand and let it pour out her fingers. "No life" Shinji tried to think of something to say but he was at a loss as well. He surveyed what was a head of him and all he found was endless desert, endless dead desert. Rei sighed again as more sand poured down.

"Well life can survive anywhere... it's not totally dead here" he tried to "cheer" Rei up even though his brain was telling him of how much of a futile act that was. Rei just rested her chin on her knees and grabbed another handful of sand. Finally something caught his eye, a lizard walking slowly across the road away from them. Shinji thought for a few minutes as the significance of the scene came to him. "Look there" he pointed. Rei looked up and regarded the small creature.

"I don't understand" she furrowed her brow in confusion.

"Well you see that lizard there he lives here" Rei looked at him "Uum you see if he can live here then this place is not so dead after all, because life can survive anywhere" Rei turned and put her chin back on her knees.

"Perhaps..."

"Ok you two stop flirting and get on the bus" Misato appeared from behind them with a grin on her face.

'Must she always assume...'

"It's not like that!" Shinji protested.

"Yeah ok Shinji whatever you say..." Misato said while pushing them towards the bus.

'Ineffective' Rei thought with a sigh.

The bus arrived at a U.S. military aircraft that was being loaded with an assortment of equipment. This time it was Rei who was the last one to get on... and of course every seat was taken except the one next to Shinji. She stared at the Major for a short while. The Major just smiled in return.

'...' Rei took her seat next to Shinji and immediately pulled out her book. The colonel was standing at the front with the new pilot.

"So 21 you finished your training here, you going off to Greenland now?"

"Yes sir"

"Good, well here you go Tatsuko here is all the training certification for him"

"Thank you sir" She smiled cheerfully.

"Well so long and have a hell of a flight"

"Thank you sir" with that he saluted and the Colonel did likewise. The door closed after he left and all passengers took their seats. Natsumi regarded her companion with a smile.

"So how you holding up?" Artair seemed to sink into the seat in response. "That bad?"

"You know how I am with people"

"Yes I remember you always have a knack for disturbing the people you meet. How do you feel about your new comrades?"

"I don't know yet. I haven't seen them fight"

"I meant as regular people" Artair just looked at her with an annoyed look. "Ok ok, you don't have to talk about it"

"How are things with you?"

"Fine, of course watching after your file is tiring enough" He regarded her with a softer look. "But I enjoy it" Artair just sat back and let his eyes close while letting the engines sing him to sleep.

'What do I do now' Rei had finished her book and was now looking for something to do. '... maybe I should ask the Major about flirting?' Remembering the events from last night she stood up from her seat and walked over to Misato. She was busy looking over the files that were given to her.

"Major, may I ask you a question?"

"Oh hi Rei, and it's Misato outside of Nerv ok" Rei nodded and sat down next to her. "Ok then ask away"

"What is flirting?"

"Uum..." this yet again caught Misato off guard "You should ask Shinji that" 'Ya that's it pin it on him'

"I already did he suggested for me to ask you"

Misato's eye twitched "He did, did he" Rei nodded "Well ok then" she took a deep breath "Flirting is the act that one person does to another to show them that he or she is interested in starting a relationship with each other"

"Much like a handshake?"

"Uum well no flirting is for a different kind of relationship"

"Explain"

"Eer well the relationship I'm talking about is much stronger then a friendship. It's for two people that have a special bond..."

"Like family"

"Well no"

"Comrades?"

"No..."

"Colleagues then"

"No, Rei this one is much stronger then those, it's a very special bond"

"Why does one perform this so called flirting?"

'OH WHY ME!!!' Misato thought in distress. She could hear snickering from behind her. "Quiet you!" Ritsuko ducked her head down with a few more snickers. "Uum Rei flirting is used to entice someone into developing a curiosity about you" 'Please God let her drop it'

"I see..."

'Thank God'

"How does one go about this flirting?"

'Oh God no!!!' More snickering could be heard from behind her. For the next few hours of the flight Misato had to explain everything, absolutely everything, to Rei that involves flirting. Including some things that drew blush from both parties.

"So Misato had to give Rei "the talk" huh" Kaji was barely holding in his laughter as Rei asked more embarrassing questions to the distressed Major.

"It seems so," Ritsuko said also trying to contain her laughter. "She has grown a bit in the last few months, hasn't she?"

"Yes, it seems that Shinji is a positive influence on her" with Kaji's remark Ritsuko's mood darkened as she assimilated his words.

"Perhaps..."

A few hours later Rei was back in her seat contemplating what the Major had said. Shinji who hadn't really noticed her absence was reading his book. The Major was asleep, the talk she just had completely drained her energy.

'How can she be that clueless?' answering her question right away and drifting off into a much-needed nap. Rei was still deep in thought.

'There is still much I don't know' she thought.

Shinji saw her brow furrowed as she thought. 'Wow she's cute when she does that' then he mentally smacked himself.

"Ayanami?" she turned to regard the boy. "Are you confused about something?"

"A little"

"Oh"

'He asked me a question. The Major stated that flirting is the act to entice someone into developing a curiosity about you. Asking questions was one of the methods of flirting... amongst others' she began to blush as she recalled some of the more "interesting" methods. Shinji saw this and was immediately confused. 'Is he is flirting with me? Maybe I should flirt back? But how?' Her mind ran through many of the methods, some causing her to blush more. Shinji was getting a little edgy as he watched Rei's blush increase. 'I shouldn't attempt flirting until I am more skilled at expressing myself' she concluded however there was still one question she needed answered.

"Uum Ayanami?"

"Ikari-kun, are you flirting with me?"

"Uuk..." Shinji's mind shut down. Rei watched with a stone stare as the Thirds skin complexion reddened.

'He's blushing. He is embarrassed' Rei mused

"I'll take that as a no" she concluded.

"Uum ok then" Shinji fought his blush down. Rei let out a sigh of boredom. "You bored?"

"...yes, I finished my book"

"Oh...well would you like to talk?" Shinji was treading lightly into this new terrain of... having a conversation with Rei Ayanami. Her red eyes shifted back to him.

"Are you flirting with me again Pilot Ikari?" Shinji choked. "Very well then..." For the next few hours both children sat and talked about anything that came to mind. Shinji did most of it but Rei had her comments as well. Before either one knew it they both managed to slip into sleep. If anyone could see how they managed to sleep... they would die from the sugar overdose. Rei's head managed to slid slowly down to Shinji's shoulder and Shinji's rested against the headrest. Lucky for both of them no one could see them...

*CLICK*

... or maybe not.

"They have retrieved one of the pilots and are on their way to Greenland to retrieve the Eva"

"Good, how does the new pilot measure up" Commander Ikari straightened his glasses as he spoke into the phone.

"With the amount of training he's had he will prove valuable indeed" Fuyutski was on the other end still in Nerv.

"Keep me posted. How is the reconstruction of Unit-00 coming?"

"We have had some progress but without Dr. Akagi it has been drastically slowed"

"Very well. I will be here for a few more days"

"U.N. again?"

"Yes we are "discussing" who will be in charge of the protection of Nerv"

"Protection indeed"

"Goodbye" Gendo hung up the phone and turned to go to bed. He needed sleep, the effects of his command was taking its toll. 'Nerv needs to survive for now..... I'm tired. I'm need to get more sleep' he picked up a file that described his new addition to the pilot pool. 'His name sounds familiar' Gendo's eyes narrowed in thought.

"Ikari-kun wake up"

"Wha huh?" his eyes fluttered open.

"You need to retrieve a suit for the cold weather," Rei stated plainly.

"Uum ok. Is it cold outside?"

"That's right......" Kaji walked up to the two children with a suit in each hand. "Here you go" They both took one. "We will be landing soon so get those on"

"Where are we landing?" Shinji wasn't sure where they were going this entire trip.

"Greenland"

"Greenland?"

"Yep and it's going to be cold, of what I can tell we'll be heading into the mountains near the great ice cap"

"Ice? I never seen snow" Shinji was starting to like this trip.

"Nor have I" Rei stated as well.

"Well this is going to be interesting for both of you" the intercom cracked as the pilot of the plane spoke.

"I suggest ya'll strap in back there, it's going to be a bit bumpy with the winds these mountains are giving us. As he spoke the passengers felt the plane starting to rock and shake. After a few minutes of tossing and turning the plane finally touched down. As the doors opened to a haze of white, a few cars and trucks were already at the plane to meet the passengers as they disembarked the aircraft. A man wearing the rank of Major approached, his goggles covered much of his face and his mustache was caked with snow.

"Major Katsuragi, I am Major Jerrett Operations officer for Unit-04," he yelled over the sounds of the storm and engines.

"Did you say Unit-04?"

"Yes, lets hurry this storm is getting bad and we still have a ways to go" The group huddled into the cars as they made their way into the base. Maj. Jerrett escorted them into the command post and started briefing them.

"Welcome to Glacier Ops, this base was originally designed for observation and study of the ice cap. Now we turned it into the secret location of our Eva weapon research and home of Unit-04"

"I thought it was lost with the Second branch?"

"Yes, but when it reappeared the Eva was still inside. We transported it here and kept its existence a secret, but that will be explained later we need to handle a few things. First we need to get you to your quarters. Major you and the Lieutenant need to handle a few admin things here, but I'll send the rest of you to the cabin we have setup for you deeper in the mountains. From there you will be closer to Point Kodiak, the Eva hangar"

Ritsuko spoke up "I will like to see the Eva as soon as possible"

"Very well I'll have the driver drive you to the hangar after he drops off the pilots"

Kaji turned towards Misato with a business look "I will go with them to provide security" he said with a serious tone.

Misato was a bit wide eyed with the surprise of Kaji's demeanor "Oh.....ok" After she said this Kaji's face stayed that way for a few seconds then flashed his smile.

"Although I would love to stay here and keep you warm from the storm but duty calls.....bye" he waved as he walked away with a smirk. Misato was left clenching her fist and grinding her teeth as her face turned red.

"Why.....you little.....ooh" she threw her hands up in frustration.

After a bit of a drive the children and the two adults made it to their living quarters. It was a cabin of decent size set in the woods. Kaji helped the children out of the snow track as he waved to Ritsuko.

"Don't work too late" he grinned.

"You take care, the storm's getting worse" The four entered the house.

"Well this is nice," Kaji said as he looked around. The four shrugged off their suits.

"I'll start a fire," Artair said evenly as he made his way to the fireplace.

"I guess I'll get some tea going or something" Shinji shrugged.

"Coffee for me please" 21 said without turning from his work.

"Oh ok" 'well he seems normal enough' Shinji thought as he walked into the kitchen and turned on the water and waited..... and waited. "There's no water!"

"The pipes are probably frozen" Kaji said as he studied the faucet. "We'll just melt some snow"

"Fire's going" 21 said as he entered the kitchen and grabbed a pot Shinji took his lead and followed. Rei went unnoticed as she stared out into the night with a look of wonder.

'It's like rain but.....softer' she thought as she recalled the feel that a handful had in her hands.

'Individual flakes melt quickly, but if combined together they are stronger.....much like people' she stared for a few moments longer. As the two boys came inside she stepped out.

"So.....uh where do you come from?" Shinji decided to try and start a conversation as he sat down with his tea.

"The United States....." 21 stated evenly.

"I mean whereabouts?"

"I don't know" Artair said as he drank his coffee.

"You don't?"

"No, Major Katsuragi will probably inform you about it.....how is Tokyo-3?" Shinji perked up at the sound of his question. When he looked at Artair he finally noticed what he looked like. His hair was short and brown and his eyes were an emerald green. His build looked slightly less then Toji's but he was the same height as Shinji. His face seemed a bit tanned from the desert but was still fairly pale. This boy Artair 21 (pronounced Two One) wasn't much different then himself.

"Oh it's fine there's a lot to do there"

"Hmm.....good. Tell me about the other pilots"

"Oh ok....." Shinji began to describe the other two pilots to Artair and started to tell him stories about things they did. 21's face scrunched up as Shinji described Asuka's personality.

"She.....sounds difficult to handle sometimes"

"Uum yeah I guess you can say that" Shinji said with a smile.

"I hope that won't prove to be a problem"

"Huh? Oh I don't think it would" Shinji looked at the fire and saw that they didn't have much wood. "Oh I should get more fire wood"

"I'll help you" the two boys stood and walked outside. Kaji watched the two leave with a smile.

"Well he seems friendly, maybe that will be a welcome change" Kaji turned back to his laptop.

Outside Rei was sitting in the snow staring down a hill into a frozen pond. Her mind however was elsewhere.

'Family, friends, emotions, happiness, home, bonds, flirting, Nerv, the Commander, Ikari, the Major, the second, Hora.....Hikari, Suzahara, Aida, the new pilot, snow, all these are new things or old things that have changed. I'm..... afraid. Change is inevitable however still disturbing. What is my purpose now? It has changed as well. What am I going.....' She took a deep breath the cold air seemed to pour down into her.

'I must focus..... these will all be explained and I will understand them.....' her eyes felt heavy as she thought with determination.

'I feel tired...... Ikari has been helpful. I will rely on him for some guidance however he too seems confused' she felt a violent shiver go through her body.

"Cold" 'I feel cold inside, is this an emotion? I dislike it. I'll need to ask.....Ikar.....Ikari-kun' She shook her head trying to think straight. She tried to stand but she couldn't feel much of her body anymore. 'I feel tired....so tir.....' the girl slumped over as she drifted to sleep. She fell over and sank a bit into the snow.

Shinji was being loaded up by Artair for another load to take inside. He looked over to see Rei sitting out in the snow facing away from him, his thoughts drifted to the plane ride earlier that day.

********

"So you enjoy swimming right? I've watched you swim a lot at school and Nerv" Shinji was rather enjoying his time speaking with Rei.

"You watch me?" Rei said staring straight at him, a slight look of confusion on her face.

"Uuk.....that is I saw you..... a lot.....uum I didn't stare or anything....uum hehe" he tried to laugh but it came out weak, Rei just kept staring at him.

"Do you enjoy watching me?" 'This is another method of flirting that Katsuragi spoke of..... watching' a hint of blush started to show despite her attempts at control.

"Uum that is....." Shinji could swear that his heart was about to explode. "Uum well yeah in.....uum a way I do but not like that it's uum and I can't swim and you can and your good but I don't stare or anything" He was struggling.

"You can't swim?" Her words derailed his ramblings.

"Uum no I can't I never learned how"

"....."

********

"God that was embarrassing....." he chuckled to himself. He looked on at the Blue haired girl sitting in the snow. 'You know she looks really cute sitting there like that.....' He watched as the girl leaned to one side then his eyes grew in alarm as she toppled over. Immediately he dropped the bundle and took off towards her.

"Rei!" Artair looked down at the wood then took off chasing after him. Shinji got there in record time he knelt down and pulled Rei up into his lap brushing the snow from her face. Artair got there shortly afterwards. He knelt down and felt her face and lips.

"Her lips are blue..... and her skin is cold. We need to get her in side now" he stated evenly and cool. He scooped her up ad tried to get her closed in on herself as much as she can.

"Ikari....." Rei whispered in such a low tone that 21 was the only one that heard, he shifted his eyes to her for a fraction of a second. 'Ikari..... I see' the two boys rushed her inside. Kaji was surprised as Shinji of all people busted through the door.

"What's wrong!?!"

"It's Rei, she's cold" Immediately Kaji rushed over to the couch and angled it in front of the fire clearing it off in the process. 21 set her down and started to rummage through a hall closet looking for things to warm her. Kaji examined her "She's soaked!"

"She was sitting in the snow," Shinji said frantically.

"I'm sorry Shinji" Kaji said a little nervously.

"Huh?" Kaji knelt down and yanked out a boot knife.

"Her clothes are soaked we need to get them off else she'll freeze to death" he used the knife to quickly cut off the water logged clothing. Shinji didn't seem to be fazed until he felt her arm.

"She's ice cold!" he yelled

"Shit!" Kaji ran to the kitchen and slammed the faucet on..... nothing came out. 'Damn I forgot' he ran back into the room to see Shinji trying to work a blanket over a shivering Rei 'Shit! She needs to be warmed faster then this'

Artair slid next to her and felt for her pulse and breathing. "It's weakened" Kaji started to look around for something anything.

(Author's note: I'm going to get shot for this one)

That's when it hit him, "Skin!"

"What?" Shinji wasn't in the mood for being confused, but Artair understood by what he meant.

"Ikari remove you clothes"

"WHAT!"

"Skin to skin contact! She's suffering from hypothermia, skin contact is the best source for heat!" Kaji practically yelled back. Shinji's face was beet red till he looked down at Rei, her shivering had become more violent and her lips had turned more blue and again that calm that he felt before swept over him and ceased all the voices. All that was left was his heartbeat slow and methodical, he listened for what seemed minutes.

"Alright" he stood and began to remove his shirt. Kaji lifted up Rei and Artair ran back to the hall. After Shinji was down to his boxers he laid down on the couch as Kaji lowered Rei down. The moment Rei's skin contacted his, his breath disappeared altogether. She was so cold, it was hard for Shinji to breath, and the very contact seemed to freeze his insides to the core. He wrapped his arms around her, 'She's so cold' he thought with despair. His breathing became labored. Kaji watched in alarm as he saw his face pale.

"Are you alright Shinji? What's wrong?"

His voice shuddered "She's so cold" 21 arrived with an electric blanket and quickly placed it on them, Kaji in turn plugged it in. Slowly Rei's shivering slowed till it was gone. Kaji placed his hand to check for her pulse, he smiled as he sighed with relief.

"She'll be fine..... I think. We still need to get some medics here" Artair 21 entered the room already clad in an artic parka and protective gear.

"I'll go retrieve them"

"Oh no you don't that's my job" Kaji said standing.

"You will need head to Glacier Ops, there is medical supplies and teams there and also get the Major and inform him what happened, the storms here always knock out any radio communication. I will head to Point Kodiak and retrieve Dr. Akagi and further assistance....." Kaji tried to protest but was soon interrupted. "..... Maj. Jerrett and Maj. Katsuragi need to be informed, and Glacier is farther then Kodiak" Kaji decided not to argue any further.

'He's had the training and I would rather have him go the shorter distance' "Alright then, is there any transportation we can use?"

"Three snowmobiles outside" In agreement the two headed for the door. Shinji poked his head up to see what was going on.

"Where you guys going?"

"To get some help, you stay there and keep her warm" Kaji ordered.

"Alone?" Shinji squeaked out.

"Yes," Kaji's eyes softened "she still needs help just to make sure she's alright" he grinned "and I won't reveal too much to Misato" Shinji squeaked and shrank back into the couch.

Outside the wind howled as the snow stung at Artair's skin, he covered what was left exposed with a cloth and turned to Kaji "I'll be heading this way....." he yelled "..... and I will call you when I arrive"

"Likewise for me, don't get yourself killed we haven't even used you yet" Kaji yelled back.

Artair smirked at the thought and continued on. Kaji sped off in the other direction with determination. The night however was far from over.

"The storm seems to be squatting over us," Natsumi said staring out the window over the mounds of paperwork.

"Mumph mm mot mou mum" Misato muttered from her respective mound.

"Huh?"

"I said I know what you mean, goddamn paper cut" she started to suck on her finger while Natsumi giggled. "Tell me about him" Misato asked.

"Hmm? Artair? Oh he's a nice guy it's just he's not any good that's all"

"Good at what?"

"Living"

"Huh? Hehe that's what Ritsuko said about Rei"

"How so?"

"Well Rei is a nice girl but when it comes to things about living she is..... well clueless"

"Oh 21 is different, he knows all about life. It's just he refuses it"

"Huh? Why?"

"I can answer that," Major Jerrett said as he entered the room. "He was "adopted" by the Air Force about 6 years ago. Since then he's been trained as a soldier but more like a pet project then a real combat unit. We never expected him to tackle it so easily, he was good I'll give him that but he was just a kid and we would never use him..... until about 3 years ago. It was decided to really train him completely and as an Eva pilot as well. Well later some OGO wanted to "test" him, so they took him for a mission"

"OGO?"

"Other Government Organization. When he came back he had no memory of what he was before hand"

"How?"

"That part is classified even to me. They said when they found him the only thing he knew of himself was that he was sent there for a mission, he had a team, and his call sign was "Artair 21", but the rest was a complete blank"

"Don't you have his file?"

"Yes, but he refuses to read it, he said that if he can't remember who he was then he's not that person anymore..... and he was pretty much right about that he never acted the same way again"

"Hence is why we call him Artair 21, he's a different person" Natsumi concluded.

"Wow that sounds like it's straight out of a crappy war book" Misato blinked.

(Author: I KNOW!!!!)

"We know that's why we don't talk about it too much, well anyways he's now the designated pilot of Unit-04"

"You mean the ninth," said Natsumi coldly.

"Ninth there was more?"

The Major sighed, "Yes, we had several failed attempts at activating the Eva"

"....." Misato was quiet. 'Ritsuko was right these new pilots are weird' "What about the second one"

"Oh the spare? Ya'll will meet him tomorrow" The man said with a smile

"Ok?"

Kaji wasn't having the greatest of times the wind was picking up and it was hard for him to see. "Bloody weather" he muttered trying to think of a reason he used bloody. Finally as he topped the hill he saw his destination at the bottom. As he got to the bottom his method of transportation decided that that was as far as it was going to go and died a few yards away from the command post. He jogged the last of the distance and pounded on the door.

"What the hell happened?" Maj. Jerrett asked.

"Ayanami..... one of our pilots..... froze...." Kaji was busy trying to catch his breath, he hated the cold air. "Ayanami, one of our pilots was found outside, she went hypothermic," Misato gasped in worry. Kaji held up his hand "She's fine but we still need someone to look at her just to make sure"

"Love to help ya....." said a Captain that was there with them "but the weather is just to bad out there for any aircraft"

"Or vehicle" said another man.

"We got to wait till the storm dies down" Jerrett concluded "Are you sure she's alright?" Kaji nodded.

"But Artair headed for Point Kodiak to retrieve Dr. Akagi"

"I wouldn't worry too much about him" the man smirked.

Meanwhile things weren't going well for the other messenger the wind increased in strength and the snowmobile was dying. "Damn it" 21 cursed under his breath. The snow was blocking his view and slowing his advance. "Son of a bitch " He stopped and started to look around.

'The snow is making it hard for me to navigate' he raised out of his seat 'I'm hardly sure where I am' the blizzard increased its fury as he set off again. All he could see ahead was a dark white. He continually rubbed his goggles as he navigated towards the ice cap 'I think' Before that entire thought could be completed part of the snow gave away.

"Shit" he jumped as far as he could but to no avail. Him and the large snowmobile tumbled together down a steep incline towards a large amount of trees. His snowmobile hit the ground and flipped in the air as it crashed straight into a tree causing a vast amount of damage. 21 was luckier, he narrowly missed another tree as he slid to a stop. 'I hate my luck' he stood up and looked around then he looked up at the spot he fell from. "Damn that hurt! I'm still to far from Kodiak so proceeding on foot is futile. The storm is getting worse, and I am freezing my butt off. Well time to hole up here till I can go on..... or until I'm a frozen corpse whichever comes first" he walked over to the ruined piece of machinery and grabbed a bag out of it's storage. With a sigh of annoyance he went to look for a suitable shelter.

Misato was worried; anyone could see that, she was worried sick. Kaji just hung up the phone with a frown on his face.

"What's wrong?" Misato asked the worry ever present.

"Artair hasn't made it to Kodiak yet....." Misato face showed a hint of fear "..... but the major said that we shouldn't worry about him" Kaji didn't sound too convinced. Misato turned back to the window.

"I can't help but worry about them" Misato folded her arms as she watched the snow outside.

"Don't worry....." Kaji put his hands on her shoulders and gave a reassuring squeeze. Misato leaned into him and let out a sigh. "..... Rei is going to be fine and Shinji won't let anything happen to her. I also let Ritsuko know, she's standing by"

"I know..... I think she likes him"

"Rei? Isn't that obvious?"

"I was teasing her about it earlier"

Kaji let out a chuckle "Of course you would"

"I actually think they're pretty cute together..... but I....." Kaji squeezed her shoulders again."..... I can't believe I did that"

"What?" Kaji was confused.

"Nothing just a stupid assumption that I had that I should have never had"

"It's ok" He drew his arms around her and gave her a hug. "Don't worry everything will be fine"

In the forest a boy sat in a makeshift shelter made out of a tree and snow. He rummaged through his bag and took out a used survival ration.

"Great, someone got into it already" he looked a bit longer and found a few cans of boot polish and a lighter. "Better then nothing" He opened the can and lit the contents on fire; it gave off a small amount of heat but enough just the same. He started to review his situation.

"I only have a few of these cans, the storm doesn't show any signs of stopping, and if it goes on for much longer I'm finished" he sat back against the tree's trunk "My life will end in a few hours....." he slumped a little with an annoyed sigh "..... I'm hungry"

Shinji opened his eyes and began the process of making his eyes focus. He turned and looked at the fire, it was slowly dying but still provided heat. 'Maybe I should go put some wood on it' his mind replayed what Kaji told him. 'Nah, I'll get it later' His thoughts shifted to Rei, she was sleeping on her side, on top of him. He squeezed gently and felt the soft skin under his hands.

"Your so soft Rei," he mused out load. 'She was so cold but now.....' All her shivering was gone and her body was warm now producing it's own heat. Shinji smiled at the thought of that, 'She puts off a lot of heat' he smiled at his own jest. While thinking his hands rubbed up and down the length of her back, "Thank god you're alright" he closed his eyes and leaned his head back. "So warm" he smiled. Movement however disturbed his thoughts. He opened his eyes slightly only to have them snap to their full diameter. Staring back was a pair of equally as wide crimson eyes.

Author's Notes: I'm going to get castrated for this one but the good news is this one is for review. If enough people don't like the way this one was done then I'll rewrite it. A couple friends and I actually thought of this dilemma of Rei nearly freezing to death and how far will someone go to help. We actually got the idea with the help of a fic named Cold Hearted by: Spike much thanks to him. And I swear to you that skin-to-skin contact is an actual First Aid solution to lowered body temperature and hypothermia. Artair 21 is an odd character, I came up with him at about 2:00 am on a weekday after drinking too many Crown and Cokes but I think he'll turn out all right. I know the explanation of his history in this sounds pretty crappy but that's all you get for now. If this chapter stays then the next chapter is going to be very hard for me to write, it's going to be about the people back in Tokyo-3... including Asuka. They need a chapter. Need reviews. Does this suck? Too fast? Too slow? OOC? Not enough vanilla wafers? Please review.