A couple of hours later, Janet's eyes opened to see the dwindling fire. No wonder she felt cold, even with the blankets and Trevor to keep... except he wasn't there anymore. "Where'd he go now?" she murmured out loud. "Trevor?"

She heard a thump outside the door, RIGHT outside the door. For a moment she stopped breathing, "TREVOR!"

He burst through the door with another armful of wood. "You rang?" She leaned back in relief, sighing loudly. Trevor dropped the wood near the fire and started feeding it, log by log. "What'd I do, scare the pants off ya?"

She remembered her clothing was hanging to dry, and peeked under the blanket at her bare legs. "Very funny."

"Bet I woke you up when I got that first bunch of branches to the door. Don't worry, I'll get this fire going again. I fell asleep, too."

"I'm doing okay." She started to fold her legs closer to her, but had forgotten about her ankle. "AACK!"

He ran over to her. "What happened?"

"Oh, silly me. I thought I could move like a normal person for a minute." She smiled stiffly. "I'm just trying to get comfortable and bend that leg a little."

"Well here, let me help..." He pulled the covers off and gently took hold of the injured leg. "Scoot down just a little... ok." He helped her knee to bend slightly, then set it down. "How's that?" he asked, caressing the inside of her knee.

"Better."

"You know, your clothes are probably dry by now, if you want to..."

"Actually... I'm kind of used to this now," she said, much to his surprise.

"You sure?"

"Uh huh." She smiled at him a long while. When she looked down for a moment she noticed that lifting the covers had revealed more than her legs-- it revealed where the diary had fallen to. "I almost forgot about this." She picked it up and scanned to where they had left off. "There's one more entry, Trevor."

"Oh yeah?"

She nodded, but then looked at the book regretfully and tossed it aside.

"Don't you want to read it?"

"It's going to make me want to break my promise... I know it..."

Somehow she'd found a way to puzzle him all over again. "And you don't now?" he asked, bewildered.

"You know I do."

"Then WHAT?"

She leaned back and folded her arms across her chest. "I've got about one ounce of resolve left, and I'm going to stick to my promise if it's the last thing I do."

"But you're not making any... " The battle with her loyalties was going nowhere, he could see that. But then again, neither was she. Literally. He reached for the diary.

"What are you doing -- Trevor!" He snuck around behind her again, opening the book to the final entry so that both of them could see it. He started to read silently, and she tried to close her eyes to the pages in front of her, but her curiosity got the better of her. She read silently as well.

When they reached the end, he set the book down. Swinging to his original place alongside of her, he stared at her. She said, ''It shouldn't have ended that way."

"It doesn't have to."

"I mean I'm glad he finally told her his reasons -- but they were all wrong. No one else should have had a say... they never really had a chance... "

"Pretty sad, isn't it?"

She looked up at him. "What did you mean, 'It doesn't have to'?"

"I meant, I think it's time to fix history on behalf of these kindred spirits of ours." He moved a hand back to her knee, and pulled his face desperately close to hers.

Janet whispered, "How do you plan to fix it?"

"Let's just call it... the SECOND to last thing you'll do." Now or never, Trevor thought to himself, his heart pounding wildly. He leaned in and gave her a soft little kiss, forcing himself to keep it short. When she reciprocated by leaning in for a longer one, his confidence soared. Just as he began to deepen the kiss, though, a sound from outside the cabin got their attention.

Janet jerked away from him abruptly. "What was that?" she asked.

Trevor heaved a ragged sigh. Once again life had interrupted their intimate moment. "Lemme go take a look see. It's probably just the wind." Opening the door, he saw nothing, so he shrugged and closed it. "See? You were hearing things, Toots."

Just as he closed the door and turned his back, Janet saw a bunch of brown fur in the window. "T-Trevor," she said, "don't bears hibernate in the winter?" The fear creeped into her voice. Just then the huge animal, obviously awoken from his winter nap by the human inhabitants, banged on the door as if asking for entry. Trevor gathered a trembling Janet in his arms. Although fear gripped her, she wasn't sure whether it was the cold or the bear making her shiver.

Trevor whispered to her to keep quiet and their "guest" would go away. What seemed like an eternity later, the animal backed down off the door and headed into the forest.

"Thank God for English oak," Trevor remarked. Grinning, he turned to Janet, "I guess the diary isn't the only old thing in here. They don't make wood like that any more." He pulled away far enough to have access to her lips. "Now, where were we? Oh, I remember. Right about here," he whispered huskily, closing the distance between them.

Janet responded at first, but pulled back as he deepened the kiss. "Ah, Trevor, it might be a good idea if I get dressed right now."

"But we can have much more fun this way."

Janet groaned and dipped her head onto his shoulder. "Trevor... you are all male!"

"And proud of it," he shot back at her. "Are you really sure you want to get dressed?"

Not trusting herself to speak as he pulled her back into his arms, she merely nodded.

"Okay, okay, but this isn't the end." Sitting her on the cot, he went to get her jeans. He stood before her, holding the jeans. "You going to need help getting into them?" he asked, trying to stifle an innocent grin.

Janet gulped, knowing there was no way she could do it herself with her ankle like it was. "At least getting them over the ankle."

Trevor knelt down and pulled the denim fabric over her injured ankle, deliberately taking his time, knowing what it was doing to her. Every time he touched her, even the most innocent touch, she felt as if she was on fire and only he could put out the fire. He pulled the other leg over her left ankle, "Okay babe, we're going to have to stand you up so you can button these."

Janet nodded, steeling herself for the pain she knew would come when he set her down. "Owwwww," she howled as he set her on her feet as gingerly as he could.

"Sorry," he told her unnecessarily. "Can you button them?"

Janet tried but could not balance herself. With a defeated shrug she shook her head. "Trevor!" she called out urgently as her ankle began to give out.

"Okay, okay. Hold your pants on."

Janet glared at him, "Ha, ha."

Trevor walked behind her. "Come here," he said, pulling her back against his chest. Janet shivered at the closeness, but that was nowhere near what she felt as Trevor's arms circled her waist and began to button her jeans. "Are you sure you want me to button these?" he asked, his breath hot against her neck.

Janet only nodded because she was sure if she spoke, she would tell him not to button her jeans, but instead to... 'Stop it!' she told herself.

He did button the jeans, very slowly and deliberately. When he finished, with his arms still steadying her, he circled her until they were face to face. Unable to resist any more, he lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her solidly. "Janet," he sighed, passion creeping into his voice.

"T..Trevor, we shouldn't be doing this." She tried to fight the feelings that were quickly overtaking her, but, giving in to them, she wound her arms around his neck with a moan of passion. Sensing her surrender, he picked her up and carried her to the cot. Lowering her to the bed, he joined her, almost covering her body with his. Trevor continued his seduction of her, kissing her lips and neck and unbuttoning her shirt. Both were overwhelmed with the passion burning between them.

Janet broke away when she heard voices in the forest. Trevor said, "Probably just the bear again."

"Bears don't talk, Trevor. Listen."

They heard two familiar voices outside. "Well, I'll be... " Trevor grinned. "What are they doing here?" Suddenly remembering their position and appearance, he helped her sit up and rebuttoned her shirt.

From outside they heard Tim say, "Look, here's a cabin. I bet they're in there."

"My bag," Amanda exclaimed, spotting her backpack. Moments later, the door swung open. Amanda spotted her parents in the corner of the room. "Mommy... Daddy!" She ran and threw herself into their arms. "Mommy! Daddy! I was so worried about you!!"

Janet flinched as Amanda almost stepped on her ankle. Trevor noticed the concerned look on her face and, putting two and two together, quickly lifted Amanda away from Janet's foot. Janet breathed a sigh of relief as Amanda's little body was removed. "You okay?" Trevor looked at her with concern. She nodded leaning down to grasp the throbbing joint.

Amanda immediately looked at Janet. "What's the matter with your foot?"

"It hurts a little bit is all. I'll be fine."

"Lemme see," Trevor knelt down to look at it.

Tim came in soon after Amanda. "Hey Dad, Janet," he greeted them. Trevor asked how they found them. Tim grinned, reminding him of the emergency number he'd left.

"Oh yeah, I forgot," Trevor responded.

"So can we go now?" Tim asked them. "It is much warmer at the lodge." He gathered his coat around him.

"Well Timbo, we have a small problem," Trevor told him. "Janet broke her ankle and can't walk."

Tim sighed. "That could pose a small problem," he responded.

Trevor jumped up. "Wait a minute, I've got a plan." Going to his bag, he brought out a long knife. With the knife in hand, he headed out the door and brought back two sturdy branches. Carefully carving a small hole in each one, he then wrapped a blanket around the top of each.

He stood in front of Janet and, with Tim's help, got her up on her feet. Making sure the make-shift crutches fit well enough to get them back to the lodge, he then packed up their belongings and they readied to trek back.

The walk was slow, but the wind had died down and the snow stopped blowing so they could at least walk.

When they were halfway to the lodge, Janet stopped. "Trevor," she called to him.

Turning toward her he asked, "What? Are you hurt? Tired?"

She shook her head. "The diary... we left the diary."

Trevor grinned at her, "Is that all?" he asked.

"Please Trevor," she pleaded, "I want to keep it."

He groaned, but knowing she wanted it, he couldn't refuse getting it for her. "Stay here," he told the three of them, making sure Janet was firmly sitting down before he left them.

He made the trek back to the cabin and when he got there, he couldn't believe his eyes!! The cabin was gone!! The only thing in sight was a small circle of ashes where a fire had been. "No, no, this isn't happening," he told himself. "I am not going looney tunes." He went further up the forest before he realized the cabin had vanished, as if it never existed. 'Did it?' he wondered. Shaking his head, he reached over to the coals which were still warm. "Unbelievable," he whispered to himself.

Returning to where he left Tim, Amanda and Janet, he said, "You are not going to believe this. I almost don't believe it myself."

Janet looked at him, confused. "Believe what? Did you find the diary?"

Trevor sat down beside her. "Janet," he began, "the cabin is gone, like it was never there."

Janet looked at him. "What?" she demanded incredulously. "You're kidding!!!"

"No way, no how, toots... it's gone, diary, letter, cot, and all. There's not even a trace of the cabin or the shed left."

Janet shook her head. "Incredible," was all she could say. Amanda and Tim sat there in disbelief, unsure of what was going on.

Moments later, they heard voices coming from the general area of the lodge. "Hey over here!" Trevor called out to them.

Four search and rescue officers came over to them. "Mr. Dillon, Ms. Green," they called. Trevor nodded at the mention of their names. "We have been searching for you folks for days."

Trevor wasn't going to mention the cabin at first, but eventually, curiosity got the best of him. "We found a cabin and stayed there until my kids found us."

To his amazement, neither of the officers flinched or blinked at that. "Algernon and Priscilla strike again," one of them stated quietly.

"Wait a minute," Janet broke in, "you know about Algernon and Priscilla?"

"Not personally ma'am, but you folks are not the first to be 'rescued' by Algernon and Priscilla," he told them. "It is a strange story, kind of a 'Phantom 309' thing. When we get you back to the lodge, talk to the bartender, he knows the whole story."

Janet nodded and thanked him.

One of the other officers noticed her make-shift crutches. "You hurt ma'am?"

She grimaced. "I fell in the avalanche and broke my ankle, but I can walk with these."

"That's okay ma'am. We aren't far from the lodge. My men and I will carry you the distance."

Two of the men crossed their arms and formed a chair. The other two lifted her into their arms and the rest of the party, including Trevor and the kids, walked behind them. Trevor burned with jealousy watching those men carrying Janet. They were trained professionals, but somehow that thought did nothing to make him feel better.

Twenty minutes later, Janet was seated in the first aid room of the lodge while her ankle was wrapped tightly for the trip back to Pine Valley. The medics kept Trevor's handmade crutches as a souvenir.

Anxious to get home, Trevor made arrangements for the trip.

"Trevor, I want to talk to the bartender first," Janet said, stopping him.

"Okay, toots. Then we are going home to 'our house,' NOT to your hotel room."

Janet grinned, "I am too tired to argue with you on that, so I won't."

They walked over to where the older man was tending bar. "You must be the young people who were in the cabin," he greeted them.

"So there was a cabin. We didn't dream it up, right?" Trevor asked, happy to see that he wasn't losing his mind.

The older man chuckled. "No, you weren't losing your mind," he assured them. Getting the kids a soda, he motioned for them to sit down. "This used to be Priscilla Aduar's land, or rather her father's," he began.

He told them about Priscilla, her sister and Algernon, telling them that Priscilla fell in love with Algernon whose profession was somewhat questionable, but it was a living. They kept a cabin in the woods where they met. "One day, Priscilla's father found them in the cabin, both frozen from the snow. They died together. That cabin stood until about 3 years ago, but every now and then, when some bad storm happens, like magic, the cabin appears and saves some lucky couple from the fate that Algie and Prissy suffered."

Trevor and Janet shook their heads in disbelief. "Amazing," they chorused.

The bartender chuckled. "More than one long standing relationship has been forged in that cabin and it's the same thing every time. No one wants to spill the secret." He leaned toward them, "You wouldn't want to let an old man in on the secret would ya?"

"Nope," Janet told him. "It was like a dream... I think I'll keep it that way."

"Figured ya'd say that," he chuckled. "You folks best get going if you want to get back home before the next storm hits."

Trevor helped Janet to her feet and held onto her. "Magic, huh? So that's what it takes to make a family," he whispered in her ear.

Janet only grinned. "Ask Amanda. She seems to have all the answers."

He chuckled. "I love you Janet."

She turned to him. "And I love you Trevor," she sighed as he leaned closer and captured her lips with his.

Behind them, Amanda and Tim exchanged high fives.

THE END

Author's note

For those of you who aren't familiar with country music or trucking songs, "Phantom 309" is a song sung by Red Sovine about a truck called phantom 309, which ran off the road to avoid hitting a bus full of kids. According to the song, every now and again, when a cold, lonely traveler is walking, this truck stops and picks them up. I imagine this came out of the mind of some brilliant songwriter, and I loved the twist.

Thanks for reading our story, we had a ball writing it, and we hope you guys enjoyed it as much or more.

B'Elanna, Geena, and Rhonda