They were back to the place where it all went pear shaped. Natalie stood in the exact same spot where they had been arguing over the map when Connor vanished. She was now sporting a rain coat, though it hardly mattered as her clothes underneath had been drenched from rain. She was shivering slightly, arms crossed over her chest and rubbing at her forearms in an attempt to warm up. She could've been back at the camp by now. Oh, how she wished she could be there, sipping on a cup of hot cocoa and safe from the rain, wind and nerve wrecking lightning that kept striking closer and closer to them. She hated thunderstorms when outside. She hated them even more since she was surrounded by trees and her friends were in danger.

Hell, she didn't feel safe, and she wasn't the one hanging on a bloody ledge, injured.

"You okay Nat?" Will asked, stepping towards her and running a hand over her shoulder. She looked up, offering a small smile.

"Yeah. Just want this to be over."

Will nodded, jaw clenched. She knew he was fighting down the urge to rush forward and try to see what was happening. He did try as soon as they had returned back, but the rescue team blocked his way before he even made it up to the edge.

Will argued with them for a moment, but there were three of them, all set on doing their own job.

Before he knew it, Will had been ushered away.

Natalie didn't even try. She felt as if this was all a bad dream somehow, one she could wake up from any moment. Unfortunately, that didn't prove to be the case so far.

As soon as they had met up with Mr. Statham, the so called facilitator from the camp, Natalie had been pestered about returning to the camp. For her own safety, the man said. She shot one look at Will, who looked determined as ever and knew he would accept whatever she decided for herself. But he wouldn't be returning to the camp until Connor and Ethan were rescued.

She never considered anything else.

So Mr. Statham had to accept that they will be the ones showing the way to the rescue team.

Of course at the time Natalie thought that once there, a chopper might appear. It would be the fastest and safest way surely.

The weather decided otherwise.

There was a rugged looking ambulance followed by a jeep with mountain rescue painted on its side. They parked at the closest point to the hill, which was about half a mile of an uphill walk now. At least the three men seemed to be professionals, geared up and ready to go... still, Natalie couldn't help but feel a shiver of apprehension. Surely, getting two people up from a ledge would take a larger team?

"Sorry, we are all there is right now," one of the men said when she voiced her concern, leading the way up. Will was by her side and he was frowning as well, but had at least helped lugging some of the equipment.

"You mean there are only three guys in a rescue team?"

"Seeing as the storm had managed to take down a bridge connecting us to Franklin where our headquarters are, yes. And you are lucky we were returning from a different call near the camp, otherwise there wouldn't be anyone right now."

Will scowled at that and Natalie's gut did a weird flop. Somewhere in the back of her brain there was a thought of foreboding. If no help could come here... would they be able to get Connor to the hospital in case of need?

But she pushed that thought to the far back of her mind... mostly, because she had no idea what was Connor's actual state. Or if Ethan had managed the descent safely and hadn't plummeted down while she and Will were trying to get help.

That thought alone made her feel sick to her stomach.

She stumbled a bit but shook her head when Will reached out to her. For a moment they stood frozen in place, while one of the men made his slow and careful way over to the edge. He leaned down and called out.

Natalie felt like time froze up, until she heard a faint response. She didn't really understand the words, she and Will were standing too far away, but she recognized Ethan's voice. When Ethan and the rescuer exchanged few more words, the man turned back towards them.

"They are both alive," he said, offering a reassuring grin to them and Natalie felt her knees go weak. When Will grabbed her arm this time and pushed her to sit down on a rock, she didn't protest.

They had watched the men setting up the tripod with the winch, securing everything as much as possible while the rain kept pouring down on them all.

They paced around, watching as one of the guys - Mike, her brain supplied the name - went over the edge. They did stop and pause when the radio crackled to life and they finally got a report on Connor.

"That doesn't sound good," Will grunted with a frown and they both inched closer to the edge, ignoring the warning glare from the second man - Gary - that was holding the radio. The third guy was the one operating the tripod but Natalie had no idea what was his name, because he hasn't spoken a word to them or anyone else. Only nodded or shook his head when spoken to by Gary.

Natalie didn't ponder that. She focused on all the injuries reported... while thinking of how wrong things can still get.

"It could be worse," she muttered half heartedly in reaction to Will's words. He gave her a look but didn't comment.

So they waited a bit more, watching and listening to what was going on. Heartened to know that Ethan was uninjured and coming up at least.

Another lightning broke through the sky and Natalie jumped in reaction. The flash of light was sharper, despite the fact it was still daylight. She blinked, rubbing at her ears. This was close.

"Maybe you should go to the car?" Will started but Natalie shook her head.

"No. They might need help," she stated, daring Will to argue. Hoping her voice wasn't shaking as much as the rest of her body. God, but she hated thunderstorms!

As if her own feeling of dread wasn't enough, the guy operating the tripod paused. A deep frown appeared on his face.

"What's wrong?" Gary asked and the man shrugged.

"He's not moving," he spoke, his voice scratchy and hoarse, accent thick.

Gary turned to the radio.

"Mike? What's going on?"

"Looks like he froze up," came the reply. Natalie fought back an urge to let out a loud groan. What was wrong now? Was Ethan actually hurt? She couldn't really imagine the man freezing up for no reason at all, not after seeing him charging down right after Connor, with barely any heed for his own safety.

The rescuers kept calling at Ethan, equally puzzled as she was, unsure how to proceed.

It was Will who lost his patience though, which actually shouldn't have surprised Natalie at all. He charged forward, using the fact the men were too busy trying to coax Ethan to move and weren't paying attention to them. Will somehow made his way towards the edge, on the other side of the tripod. He wasn't too much of a fool at least, Natalie thought, as she saw him go down on all four as he approached the edge and peeked down.

"Ethan? What the hell man?"

Natalie cringed. She would have probably chosen her words better, but she wasn't the one looking down below. The two men next to Will finally noticed him. Gary cursed and stepped forward, grabbing Will's belt and trying to tug him back. When Will didn't budge, only shooting a quick glare back, Gary let out a huff. He didn't let go of the belt, but wasn't pulling anymore. Just making sure Will didn't go over, adding to their trouble. Natalie could appreciate that.

"Alright, that's enough. Pull him up, Pete," Gary nodded towards the mostly mute man. Pete gave a sharp nod and started reeling the winch in. It was clear there was some resistance.

"Ethan! Get moving!" Will shouted and finally the words seemed to penetrate. Either that or Pete just managed to dislodge Ethan's hold. The winch seemed to move much easier and Will gave a triumphant 'Yes!' just as Natalie spotted a pair of dirty and scraped up hands grabbing at the edge.

Gary pulled at Will's belt, telling him in no gentle terms to step the hell back and let them work.

This time Will didn't protest, he stumbled backwards. Not too far though as he got up and lent a hand pulling Ethan up on top.

For the first time since this all started, Natalie smiled as she rushed forward.

Ethan looked a bit pale and shaky as he stepped towards them, only to be halted by the harness. Gary was helping him undo it while Pete was already setting up the basket. Will was there, one hand on Ethan's shoulder in support even as his eyes were checking for injuries. Natalie was doing the same even as she managed to nudge past Gary and enveloped Ethan in a hug.

"Thank god you are alright. We were worried sick you slipped and fell or something-" she said while her hand reached up to touch the scrape on Ethan's cheek. It was running pink, the blood mixed with water.

Ethan grimaced, but didn't pull away from her hug.

"Alright, glad you are alive and well, doc. But if you could step aside and let us get back to work?" Gary spoke, pointing out that the three of them were essentially blocking the space.

"Yeah, sorry. We will move," Natalie said quickly, pulling Ethan to the side. Will followed, eager to know whatever details could be imparted.

"Are you alright?" Natalie asked, while Will blurted out: "How bad is it?"

Ethan grimaced, running one hand over his face. Natalie noticed it was shaking minutely, but it was no surprise. The cold and the adrenaline of it all would do that to anyone. Even an ex-marine like Ethan.

"I'm fine," Ethan waved off Natalie's question first. He glanced over at the two rescuers and saw that the basket was already on its way down. He straightened up.

"It could've been worse... but it's not good either. There's a nicked artery in his arm. I couldn't stop the bleeding so had to put on a tourniquet."

Natalie grimaced and Will did the same.

"Ouch. I bet he didn't take that well."

Ethan shook his head and Natalie could read the guilt in his eyes. She ran a hand over his arm soothingly.

"You did what you had to. I'm sure Connor understands."

Ethan gave a short nod, though it might've been just to deter any attempts at easing his conscience.

"The arm is just one issue. His ankle is most likely broken and some ribs. No sign of a spinal injury, but I didn't really have much space to check him out. Possible head injury as well. Combined with this rain and the blood loss... the longer it takes to get him to a hospital, the more likely he goes into shock."

The trio exchanged a worried look.

"I'm not even sure a hospital is an option right now," Natalie said softly. "They mentioned some problems with the bridge to Franklin. I don't know if there is another hospital nearby, besides the clinic in town."

This time it was Ethan who cursed.

"I told him we will save that arm."

Natalie bit down the urge to tell him that was a mistake only a rookie made in their field. Never promise a patient something you can't deliver. But then... this wasn't just a patient. This was Connor. One of them.

"We will do the best we can," she said instead.

Ethan gave a halfhearted nod and looked around. He frowned, seeing that the whole rescue operation was ran by three men. There was no ambulance in sight, no car.

"Is this all there is?" He asked with a deepening frown.

"The ambo is waiting about half a mile down the hill. Statham is waiting there, minding the radio. Hopefully he had better luck in getting word out that we need help," Will said, his own frustration over the situation seeping into his tone.

Ethan shook his head.

"Why the hell didn't anyone mention this bloody storm?"

"We were supposed to be back in camp by now," Natalie said. She had asked the same question while they were all waiting for the rescue team and Statham was nervously pacing around. "If we hadn't gotten lost..." she shook her head. There was no sense in laying blame, not now. They all had some part in this, but at the same time... it was just a stupid accident. They happened.

She expected Ethan arguing the point... he did look agitated and it was no wonder. But the man was acting strange. Instead of blowing up or looking angry, she thought she saw him actually cringe. And was that a look of guilt that flashed through his face?

Natalie wasn't sure and Ethan seemed to shake off whatever emotion took hold of him momentarily. Yet she wasn't the only one who noticed, as her eyes met Will's for a second and there was a silent question. She gave a small shrug then shook her head. No sense in pushing right now.

What they needed to do was focus on the following minutes. Make a plan, for Connor.

"Did you manage to get in touch with anyone else?" Ethan asked out of the blue and Natalie blinked.

"Uh... no. The storm took down one of the cell towers here and the connection is splotchy. We were lucky we got a signal when we did."

Not like getting in touch with someone else would've been of too much help. While Natalie knew that Sharon Goodwin would move heaven and earth to help her people if they needed it, she could hardly do much from so far away. Especially when it was nature itself throwing sticks under their feet.

They all fell into silence, waiting. Watching the two men by the edge, cringing at every lightning strike that pierced the sky. Counting the possible distance, hoping it would start moving away from them. Will had stepped behind her, his arms wrapping around her, trying to protect her from the wind and rain as much as possible. Ethan had walked back up to the edge, standing next to Gary and listening in on the radio in case Mike and Connor needed some help.

It felt like an eternity, but it couldn't have taken more than fifteen minutes.

Soon they saw the top of Mike's head, followed by the sight of the basket holding their friend.

There was a flurry of motion as three pairs of hands reached out and pulled the basket over, away from the traitorous edge. Gary and Ethan each grabbed an end while Mike undid the safety and released the basket. The two men didn't put it down until they were at safe distance from the edge. By then, Natalie and Will were there too.

"Connor?" Natalie spoke, touching his face. His eyes were closed and he was pale, lips taking on a slightly grayish tint. There was no blood on his face, though his hair was matted. The rain must've washed it off, Natalie thought absentmindedly, noting the scratches.

Will's fingers were already pressing against the carotid artery. He was frowning, focused. It took longer than usual, because his fingers were numb from cold as well.

"Will? Is he-" she asked, voice choked.

"Just unconscious," he said and she felt relief, even though it worried her.

Ethan knelt down next to her, reaching over to pull down the thermal blanket Connor was wrapped in. She wanted to protest, that he needed to keep all the heat he could, but then she caught sight of his chest. His jacket was covered in blood. Natalie swallowed, fighting down the urge to pull that jacket off to check for the source.

"That's from the arm," Ethan reassured her, though he did make a quick sweep, to make sure there were no new injuries. What he focused on though was the arm itself. Natalie cringed as she saw the bloody bandage wrapped around the forearm. The hand itself looked wrong. The color was wrong and she knew that it must've been painful as hell. Ethan still took Connor's wrist, checking his fingernails, checking if there was a pulse there. Moving the arm at least elicited a reaction.

While Connor didn't wake up, he did let out a noise of discontent, his eyes twitching under his eyelids, face scrunching up in a grimace.

"Connor buddy, can you wake up?" Ethan asked, earning only a twitch of a facial muscle.

"You sure you want him awake right now?" Will noted, a grim look on his face. Ethan glanced at him then at Gary, who was standing there, waiting.

"We need to get him to the hospital ASAP," Ethan said. Gary nodded.

"First the ambulance. Then we find out if there is any open road from Franklin."

No one argued. Ethan once again grabbed an end of the basket, with Will taking the other end this time. Gary looked towards his men. Pete was disassembling the winch and Mike was heading their way.

"You guys go ahead, I will help Pete finish and we will catch up with you by the cars," Gary said, giving Mike a quick pat on the shoulder. They didn't need any more encouragement. Silently, the group headed down the hill.