Chapter 33

Three days after Folly had last seen the Jedi, he was leading a small rescue party to find them. The men that had come along as volunteers had given him dubious glances when he'd told them what he was planning; Folly knew they thought he wouldn't be able to find the chalet in the snow covered landscape.

After three days the snow had almost covered the smallest of evergreens and even the largest were partly submerged; their limbs hung heavy with their burden. If it hadn't been for someone at the camp going out every so often to shovel away the snow from the doors, Folly and everyone there most likely would have been snowed in as well.

The sky was now bright blue, looking clean and refreshed after being scrubbed by the blizzard's snow and winds. A gentle wind blew that kept the temperatures from drastically rising. Everything looked fresh and clean; Folly had always loved the sight of freshly fallen snow, as had his sister. It always was so sparkly, like so many gems. From the looks of things now, he could see the good weather would hold, for a few days at least.

Despite the difference in the landscape, Folly easily found the chalet. Some things were just too hard to forget.

Only the tip of the roof stuck out, everything else was covered in deep snow. Folly slid off the speeder and un-strapped his snow shovel without any words to the others.

Glancing at the unusually silent man, they followed suit, walking on clumsy looking snowshoes to keep them from falling through.

Folly motioned to the spot they should begin. "We'll start there," he said quietly.

Three of the men passed Folly and started to dig away the snow, but the youngest of the group paused at Folly's side, curious.

"How did you know where to find this?"

The carefree, outgoing man was for once strangely silent. After a few minutes he looked up sharply. "There are some things you just never forget," he said brusquely. "Now start digging." With that Folly turned and began shovel snow.

It didn't take the group of five long to dig down into the snow and up to the front of the chalet. Once they had it clear, the others stepped back to let Folly enter first.

Folly had to kick and jiggle the door to get the ice at the bottom to break and then with a loud, "Hullo!" opened it with a large push.

The sight that greeted him as he stepped through the door shocked him into an unmoving silence. He stared at the bed, his eyebrows shooting for his hairline. The other two men behind him had also frozen and were staring as well, unmindful of all the warm air they were letting out into the frigid morning.

The objects of their observation were still totally unaware they were being observed. Both appeared to be in deep sleep. Folly stared; he'd known the Master was close to his apprentice but this…he hadn't expected this.

The Jedi Master was lying flat on his back in the bed and Folly would swear later that he was almost smiling in his sleep. Snuggled up to his side, with one arm thrown across the Master's chest, was Meri. Her head was resting on the side of Alex's chest, her closest leg intertwined with his.

Folly glanced at the two men behind him and could see from their expressions what they thought was going on. It looked bad. Very bad. What made it look worse was the fact that Meri's back was completely bare, the robe had fallen off her shoulders and the tie holding the robe close to her body had come loose. From her waist down she was covered under blankets. Even the sight of her injured back didn't make things look any better.

Folly finally took in a breath and at the loud exhale, Meri stirred.

***

It took all of two minutes for Meri to wake fully and realize she had an audience. On top of that, she next discovered her position and she moved so fast to put distance between herself and Alex that her legs became entangled in the sheets.

Folly stepped quickly forward as the apprentice lurched off the bed and fell in a heap on the floor with a loud thump, pulling her Master's robe around her in the process. She didn't look up as he knelt near her, but the face he'd briefly spotted when she first saw them had been mortified.

"Meri?" he questioned softly, aware of the others who still stood watching.

Finally she looked up and he was startled to see tears pooling in the dark eyes. When she finally spoke, her words came in a torrent that held a mix of emotion: embarrassment at what had just happened; relief at being rescued and that Alex would finally get help; and pure exhaustion.

"I know what you're thinking and it's not what it looks like. He's hurt, he's sick and I've been so worried…," she dropped off as she blinked away the moisture in her eyes.

Folly touched her shoulder gently. "You're hurt too," he commented, choosing not to address what he and the others had just seen.

Grasping her arms he helped her to stand before turning to the others in the doorway. "Don't just stand there," he ordered gruffly. "Close the door."

Meri avoided looking at the others as they all scrambled to stand inside the small room. Folly thought the poor thing looked like she had about all she could take.

Making certain she would be able to stand on her own, he then moved to look at her Master who hadn't even twitched. As soon as he got closer he noticed the pale features and the overall unhealthy appearance. The Jedi didn't look good.

Placing a hand on Alex's shoulder, Folly shook it gently. "Master Jedi?"

There was no response and he glanced at Meri who stood uncertainly with her arms crossed over her chest.

"How long has he been like this?"

The apprentice began to shrug helplessly, but with a grimace of pain, she immediately cut short the movement. "I don't know," she said softly.

Folly recognized what had probably happened. There was no night and day with blizzards and if she was unconscious when he found her, she wouldn't know.

"All we have are snow speeders. We'll have to bundle him up," he paused. "And you as well. It won't be easy," he said more to himself as he thought of transporting the unconscious, fevered Jedi.

They ended up using all the blankets they had. Folly had even managed to dig out from somewhere an extra tunic for Meri to wear.

Despite the wounds on her back she put in on and then at Folly's insistence, her Master's robe over it.

Once they had the Jedi Master wrapped tightly up in the blankets, Folly motioned one of the men over and they prepared to lift him.

As soon as they began to move Alex, his eyes opened and he tried to lift his head, but the attempt proved useless. "Meri," he rasped and even then Folly heard the note of concern in the Jedi's voice.

Gripping the Jedi at the shoulders, Folly was surprised at how fast Meri hobbled to her Master's side. He knew by now he may have misjudged what he had first seen, but it was also apparent these two were closely connected. Just how closely, Folly wasn't certain. Not anymore.

Again the Jedi Master tried to speak, but the effort ended in a violent coughing fit that didn't sound good.

"Try to keep him calm," Folly said in a low voice directed towards Meri. If anyone could, she would be the one.

It was true. After spotting Meri over the shoulder of one of the men, Alex allowed his eyes to slide shut in exhaustion.

They continued moving slowly across the floor and towards the door.

"Kriff, he's heavy," the other man puffed.

Folly grinned at that, but motioned another man to help with the burden.

When they reached the door they paused and without turning around, Folly threw over his shoulder, "Stay here."

He knew Meri had been trailing after them to that point, but she wouldn't be able to walk in that snow with her injured ankle. Of course knowing her, that wouldn't stop her.

He didn't look back to see if she had listened. It took awhile to get the Jedi Master situated on a speeder. Once it was done, Folly immediately sent the men and Alex ahead. He would follow with Meri.

His steps quickened as he headed back and as he neared the front of the chalet, he saw Meri picking her way tenaciously along in the snow, limping heavily.

"I thought I told you to wait for me," he said slightly exasperated.

"Where is he? Where is my Master?"

Folly let out a breath that clouded in the cold air. "I sent him ahead with the others. The longer he stays out in this cold air, the worse it will be for him, okay?"

Her face visibly relaxed at his words. "I could sense him getting further away," she said distantly in explanation.

Folly studied her closely. "That scared you." It was a statement and she didn't answer it.

"Come on, then. I'll have to carry you out to the speeder." At the look of growing protest on the apprentice's face, Folly spoke quickly, "It'll take longer if you insist on doing it yourself."

He let her think about that for a moment until she nodded.

"Okay, put your arms around my neck. I'll try not to touch your back." Awkwardly he picked her up and carried her out to the speeder.

As he got her settled on the speeder, he noticed her eyes widen as she looked around at the snow-covered landscape.

"How did you find us?" she asked curiously.

Folly climbed on the speeder behind her and reaching around her, he tucked a blanket around her slender form. "Ask me that again later," he said somberly. With those words he started the speeder and they were off, skimming above the sparkling white snow.