Disclaimer—see Chapter One

A/N: I just finished writing chapter 13 tonight, and I have the rest of the story outlined, so it looks like this one will be 16 chapters total!  This chapter is a bit of a transition chapter and marks a turn towards the more dramatic side of the story now.  But as the previous two stories in this series, this one too will come full circle!  So I hope you continue to enjoy this story, thank you again so much for all your wonderful feedback! 

Of Wind and Wood—Chapter Seven

A shaft of sunlight slated through the tiny skylight in the tent, hitting Brennan's eyes just as they were fluttering open.  Groaning, he rolled over onto his back and instantly regretted the action, hissing as stinging nettles of pain tore through him. 

"Brennan?"  Shalimar instantly shot up into a sitting position, eyes barely open even as her body instinctively reacted to his yelp of pain. 

He cursed under his breath as he carefully rolled onto his side, hand propped under his chin.  "It's not fair, Shal."

She yawned as her heart settled back into a normal rhythm.  "What's not fair?" she blinked at him in tired confusion. 

He glared at her. 

"Oh."  She smiled.  "Come on."  She jumped to her feet and prompted him to follow her. 

"Where are we going?" he grumpily asked, grimacing as he crawled out of the tent after her. 

She grinned mysteriously, putting her finger to her lips to indicate silence as they tiptoed through the sleeping camp.  He hadn't realized it was just past daybreak.  He quietly followed her until they were beyond the camp clearing. 

"Come on, Shal," he whined, "tell me where we're going."

"If I'm not mistaken," she murmured, pausing to smell the air, "I think we'll find a nice surprise not far from here." 

He graced her with a skeptical look.  "There's nothing nice about this place." 

"Oh, come on," she laughed, "It's not that bad."   She grabbed his hand as her ears picked up the sound of rushing water.  "This way."

He reluctantly followed her, dread growing as it became obvious she was leading him to a water source, "Water?" 

"Yeah, water," she countered.  "Come on, Bren, work with me a little here." 

"Fine," he frowned, falling silent as they rounded a curve and a small waterfall thundering down mountain rocks formed a steady stream of water trickling to the main river beyond their camp. 

"They're common in the spring," Shalimar commented quietly as she watched his eyes take in the beauty of the sight.  "Snow melts down from the mountains." 

He nodded, still studying the falls.  "It's beautiful," he conceded, "But I still don't understand what we're doing here."

"Do I have to spell it out?" She grinned as she cocked her head at him, fingers falling to the hem of her sweatshirt and pulling it over her head. 

He smirked, "Well, actually—"

"Shut up, Brennan," she murmured, silencing him with a passionate kiss, hands sliding under his t-shirt and stroking up and down his back.  His hands rose to cup the back of her head as he deepened the kiss, finally pulling away with a ragged breath as lungs burned for air.  His eyes darkened as they stared down at her, fingers tangling in her hair, gently pulling her head up as she placed hungry kisses against his bare chest, crushing her soft lips with his own. 

She groaned as his mouth left hers briefly to trail down the line of her jaw, arms rising to circle his neck as he kissed her again, softly, but completely.  "I miss this," she breathed into his mouth. 

He pulled back slightly, "Shal?"

Her lips connected with his shoulder, teeth scraping gently against his burnished flesh.  "The one major downfall of camping," she explained as he shuddered under her touch, "is the frustrating lack of privacy." 

"Ah," he smiled, "We'll just have to make the most of the time we do have then, won't we?" His fingers dipped and traced the straps of her camisole. 

She reached up and touched his lips, feeling a need and love for him.  "I thought you'd agree," she murmured in satisfaction, leading him towards the water as his lips claimed hers again.  

The sun rose high in the morning sky before they finally snuck back into camp, giggling as they packed up their tent and gear.  Shalimar gathered her wet curls and twisted them on top of her head, securing the mass precariously with a clip.  Brennan smiled at the sight, loving the way her freshly scrubbed face glowed pink with health.  She was alive in nature, and he marveled how she could be so completely at home out here in the wilderness as well as when working undercover at the finest of parties, standing for hours in high heels and delicately sipping champagne.  He, on the other hand, was a mess; he frowned as he studied the red rash marring his arms.  At least it hadn't spread this time; he was fortunate in that aspect.   Yeah, so fortunate that I can't even sit down.  He grimaced as he carefully settled himself on his side by the fire for breakfast.  A few piteous glances were thrown his way, but he studiously ignored them, pretending to be engrossed in his eggs. 

Shalimar settled herself cross-legged beside him, not quite able to stop smiling from their morning adventure.  Brennan waggled his eyebrows at her as she caught his glance, and she shot him a knowing grin before turning to acknowledge the nervous boy shuffling his feet behind her.  He was one of the college kids that had been ogling her the night before.

"H-Hello," he stammered as she smiled inquiringly up at him.

"Hi," she politely nodded back, waiting. 

His eyes dropped to the ground, and his legs fidgeted as he didn't move.

"Can I help you?' she finally asked as the moment stretched on, shooting a quick glare at Brennan as he snorted.  It was obvious the boy had a crush on Shalimar as he raised beaming eyes back upon her.

"I, ah, I was wondering, if I could, ah, speak to you for a moment." He turned bright red as his eyes darted to Brennan and back to her.  "L-Later on, that is." 

"Sure," she agreed, wanting to ease the awkward moment for him.

He brightened, "Th-Thanks."  He turned around and then whipped around again.  "I'm ah, Ben, by-by the way."  He scurried away with a relieved smile. 

"Should I be jealous?" 

Shalimar reached out and slapped a hand on Brennan's chest.  "Stop it," she chided as he laughed.  "He seems like a nice kid." 

"Yeah, uh-huh, whatever," he murmured as he stretched up on one arm to give her a quick kiss. 

"All aboard!"  Ana's whistle blew loudly in the morning air as they jumped to their feet, finishing last minute tasks before climbing into the rafts for their third day.  Brennan sighed as he stretched out on his side in the stern, preparing to enjoy another lazy day floating down the river.  A few hours passed as Shalimar dozed beside him, soaking up the warmth of the sun.  The boat rocked and kicked slightly as the current became stronger.  Brennan  eyed the river nervously as more and more rocks poked their faces through the surface, causing the water to swirl and backwash more frequently.  A rather large bump stirred Shalimar awake, and she sat up with a huge yawn, smiling as she realized the rapids were finally approaching. 

Her eyes sparkled down at Brennan in excitement, even as he winced as they hit another bump.

"Ouch." 

Her hand rose and landed on his hip, squeezing in sympathy as her other hand tightened on the side of the raft involuntarily.  The thunder of rapids grew louder and louder until it was almost deafening.  Brennan pushed himself gingerly into a sitting position as they checked their life jackets and everyone in the boat fell silent in anticipation.  Finally the boat dropped into the first major rapid of the river, and a wall of water rose up like a fist in front of them.  The muscles in Brennan's arms clenched tight as he found himself holding onto Shalimar, afraid she would bounce right out of the boat and leave him.

"Ouch." He winced again as the boat rocked and swayed. 

Shalimar laughed in delight as wave after wave washed over them, drenching them with its cold spray, feeling exhilarated as the boats bounced cleanly through the rapids.  Her heart pounded in her chest, and she released one hand from the grip of the boat to grasp comfortingly on Brennan's thigh as he gasped beside her.  She turned a sympathetic face towards him, only to find him smiling widely back down at her. 

"This isn't so bad!" 

She grinned in triumph at his words.

The morning passed quickly and soon they pushed back to shore for a quick lunch.  Brennan sighed in relief when he was spared of kitchen duty.  He didn't think he could handle another round with the fish so soon again.  When the smell of grilled steak hit his nose, he turned wide eyes on Shalimar, who instantly knew his thoughts. 

"You're welcome," she whispered as she pushed herself up on her toes to give him a lingering kiss, loving the scent of adrenaline that was strong on him. 

He dug heartily into the steak, forgetting his fear of the rapids and forgetting his dislike of nature as the grilled meat melted on his tongue.  He could almost even forget the humiliation of the ants, he decided as he shifted his position; almost. 

Shalimar watched interested as Ana and the other guide stood by the shore of the water, pointing and shouting as they discussed each wave and rock. 

Brennan gestured towards them with his chin, mouth full of food.  "What'da up to?"

She shook her head at him as he paused in his question to swallow.  "They're reading the river."

His brows rose up in question. 

She smiled.  "Rapids are essentially alive with all the rocks and moving water; it's unpredictable.  So they read it to determine which way is best to follow." 

"Huh." He turned interested eyes back on them, watching with her as they seemed to argue over one particular point in the water.  Finally, they nodded in agreement and Ana's whistle was again blown.

Brennan's stomach rolled with nervous excitement as they again prepared to push off into the rapids.  Ana stood next to them, answering Shalimar's eager questions. 

"So how's the injury?" Ana turned to Brennan.  "Any blisters?"

"Ah, no, not really," Brennan hedged as he did his best to angle his body away from Ana's perusing eyes.  She pursed her lips in disappointment as Brennan turned his backside away from her. 

"Well, you are very lucky then," she soberly told him, "fire ants can be very dangerous.  They can also leave scars."  Her eyes dropped down again.  "Would be a pity." 

He blushed until Shalimar came to his rescue with a grin.  "Well, luckily he only got a few bites." 

Ana nodded and cleared her throat, eyes turning back to the swirling river in front of them. 

"So what's the plan?" Brennan asked, happy to change the subject.

Ana grinned, "I'm going to pull back down that chute of dark water there," she started, pointing.  "Then spin in the still water below, hit the next drop straight, then move left before that next big drop."   She stopped for a moment, looking first at Brennan than back to the water.  He swallowed as the river suddenly seemed to loam large before them. 

"Theoretically," she added with raised brows.