A/N: Again, there are probably mistakes in this story, and I'm really sorry about that, but I can't be perfect can I? (That's a redundant question). Also, I've never been to Thailand so I'll make up stuff there. And to answer the question I got in one review, I myself have never heard Stephen call Natalie 'Nat' nor Natalie call him 'Steve;' but since it's pretty tedious having them call each other by their full names constantly, I have them calling each other by nicknames.

A/N 2: Thanks to these people for reviewing and giving me the necessary inspiration to continue this: sugarsnap591, Teyla Sheppard and SarahKathryn. Please review if you want me to keep writing!

Chapter Two

Climbing into a Land Rover, Natalie watched Stephen as he spoke with a driver through an interpreter. The instant she and her partner had landed in the Bangkok Airport, they found that they had no guide to drive them to the resort in Clohet. The news of the sickness in the small town had spread around the country, and everyone they talked to would not agree to drive them.

"Natalie," Stephen said, walking up to the passenger side where she was sitting. "We have a big problem."

"He won't take us?" Natalie guessed. When Stephen nodded in assent, she sighed deeply. "What will we do?"

"The interpreter gave me a map," Stephen said, holding it up. "I'm not sure about driving on the other side of the car, but that's not so much a problem for me as actually getting there."

"Let me see," Natalie said. "I used to go on weekend drives while I went to Stanford." She took the map and opened it out on her lap, catching the expression on Stephen's face. "What?" she asked with a smile.

"What do weekend drives have to do with getting to Clohet?" Stephen asked.

"I learned to read maps, very well," Natalie said. She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and then bent her head to the open map.

Leaning over to watch, Stephen heard her whispering softly to herself and he couldn't help but smile slightly. Natalie would usually do this when she was in the lab or working on an autopsy; he knew that it was her way of figuring out things. He kept quiet, letting her think, and let his eyes roam over her face. His gaze finally lingered on her eyes and he remembered when they had been on the plane; when they had nearly kissed. He shuddered in pleasure at the memory of the intensity in her eyes, and he got the attention of his partner.

"Steve?" Natalie asked worriedly, looking up at him. "Are you alright?" She frowned when he nodded, but went no further and looked back down at the map. "Okay, I think we can get there."

"Show me how, I'll drive there," Stephen said then.

"Is that a macho thing?" Natalie asked with a smile, looking up at him.

"Sure, now come on, we need to get going," Stephen said, trying not to sound too impatient.

"Alright, take it easy," Natalie said, reaching over and touching his hand briefly. "Now, what we'll need to do is get out of Bangkok, we can just take the main highway out of here. Then we'll follow it until it turns into a dirt road and…"

Stephen paid close attention to Natalie as she told him the way to the town. But he found himself slightly distracted when she showed the final roads into town. For the first time since he'd gone over to tell her about their predicament, he was aware of their close proximity. Leaning his head down a little more, he was able to take a surreptitious sniff of her hair and perfume. He was able to recognize the scents she was wearing immediately; roses and lavender. He swallowed hard then, and realized that Natalie was looking at him.

"Did you get the last bit of directions?" she asked, looking up into his eyes.

"Yeah, I think I'll be able to get us there," Stephen said, becoming slightly flustered at almost being caught. He straightened up and took the map to take one last look at it, hoping he would be able to see the last part of their trip that she had pointed out.

"Stephen?" Natalie asked. "We should go now."

"Sorry, just wanted to make sure," Stephen said. He folded the map a little and then handed it over to his partner. "I want you to hold this while we're on the way. Just in case I need a refresh of memory."

"Okay," Natalie said with a smiled. She reached up and took the map; and in the process brushed her fingers against Stephen's. Her breath caught in her throat and she glanced up at him to see his reaction. She was startled to see that he was staring straight into her eyes, as if he was trying to see what she was thinking, what she was feeling as they touched. "W-we need to go," she said, breaking the moment. She took the map out of his hand and held it in her own.

Carefully closing the car door, Stephen walked around to the driver's side; which was on the opposite side since the car was from England; and called out to the woman who had been interpreter for him while he had looked for a driver. "Are you coming with us?" he asked her.

"I can not, my parents would be very frightened for my health," she answered him in heavily accented English. "I am sorry Doctor Connor."

Nodding brusquely, Stephen got into the driver's seat and closed the door. "I hope someone can speak English over there," he said as he started the car.

"There should be," Natalie commented. But that was all she said as the car pulled forward and they drove to the main highway next to the airport. She kept her eyes on the windshield, wanting to take in as much of the city and then the country as they drove. She had always been interested in Southeast Asia and her countries, but never thought she would be able to go.

"It looks primitive kind of," Stephen commented as they left Bangkok behind. He watched as Natalie stared around them and smiled to himself. She looked like a young girl with her enthusiasm.

"It is a third world country," Natalie said. "At least the small towns are. Bangkok is pretty well developed."

"You've read about this place?" Stephen asked.

"A little bit here and there," Natalie said. "I used to watch the Travel Channel before I joined your team."

"I see," Stephen said. "I'm sorry that your first time here is for work."

"Oh well, maybe when things die down I can take a quick look around before we go back," Natalie said, shrugging.

"I can make sure you get the chance," Stephen said, keeping his eyes on the road. He could tell from the corner of his eye that Natalie was looking at him and he let a little smile turn up the corners of his mouth.

"You don't have to do that, I'm sure there will be another assignment back home that we'll need to get to," Natalie said.

"With the team sick, I can ask for a break for the two of us until everyone's better," Stephen said. "It wouldn't be a problem Nat."

"Okay," Natalie finally said, relenting. "Are you going to stay too if you can get us time off?"

"If you don't mind my company," Stephen said, trying to keep any emotion from his voice.

"I don't mind," Natalie said softly. "Actually, I would love it if you could stay at the resort the same time I did." She had wanted to say, 'If you could stay with me,' but that would have been going too far.

"I'll try my best Natalie," Stephen said. He glanced over at her quickly and then saw she was fiddling with the map in her hands.

"Thanks," Natalie finally said after a few minutes. She looked at Stephen and resisted the urge to kiss him on the cheek like she had done on the flight. Instead, she reached over to the steering wheel and covered his left hand with her own, squeezing gently. "Thank you," she repeated, her voice a little more then a whisper.

Stephen tried not to loose his concentration on driving, but he was able to respond to her. He moved his right hand and then lightly squeezed her hand that was on top of his other one. He slid it away a second later, but let it linger, their skin's contact making a soft noise that was almost deafening to them both in the car.

Leaning back in her seat, Natalie felt her stomach fluttering wildly and her heart beating almost in her throat. Never before had she and Stephen been so close in contact before; at least their skin had never touched like that. They had hugged sometimes and she would squeeze his shoulder in comfort or companionship, but that was all. The feeling of his rough palm on the back of her soft skin had unfazed her greatly. She had built up a wall around her heart when it came to Stephen Connor, but in a matter of seconds, he had completely destroyed it. She began to feel a faint flicker of hope, that maybe, just maybe, he could feel something; love; for her. Quickly, she suppressed that hope as best she could and turned to look out the passenger side window, trying to ignore her feelings.

After that, the car became deadly silent, each doctor thinking their own thoughts; a mix of what they had ahead of them in Clohet and what they were starting to uncover about each other's feelings.

After four hours of driving, Stephen realized that they were getting even closer to the village. And he also realized he had no idea how he had to complete the journey. When Natalie had been pointing out the directions, it was at this point he'd been distracted. He opened his mouth to ask her where he was supposed to go; if there were any side roads he needed to turn down; when he saw that she was fast asleep, leaning against the door on her side.

Facing forward, he took a deep breath and concentrated on the road again. He felt tempted to stop the car and take the map from her, but he didn't want to disturb her since she was still asleep. But eventually, he started to worry about what would happen if he got themselves lost; the possibility that one of the patients waiting for them would die in that time; and he pulled onto the side of the road. Turning to Natalie, he took a quick moment to watch her.

Stephen reached over with his hand to get the map, but paused. He frowned at the temptation rising in him, but then shook his head. Trying again to take the map, he stopped, just watching her. 'You're wasting time,' his mind screamed to him. Thinking for a second, he finally sighed softly and moved his hand up instead of down to the map in Natalie's hands. He tried his best to keep his breathing low, but when his fingertips came into contact with her hair that was on her cheek, he felt his heart speed up considerably. He noticed that Natalie murmured gently in her sleep and he pulled away after he'd tucked the hair behind her ear. He let his fingertips brush along her cheek and felt a kind of electric shock before he moved away completely.

Once he had the map in his hands a moment later, Stephen unfolded the paper and scanned it hurriedly. He tried to figure out where exactly they were, but he was having a hard time with the roads. Most were so small that they looked like they ran together as one. He soon found the 'highway' he had stopped on, but he couldn't tell what road he needed to take at an upcoming fork. Debating in his mind for a moment, Stephen realized he had no other choice and he gently placed his hand on Natalie's shoulder, shaking her a little to wake her up. He watched as she moved and was taken aback when she turned her head towards him, remaining asleep.

Sighing again, Stephen cupped her face with his hand near her and couldn't help but smile as Natalie sighed herself. He let himself stroke her skin a moment but then drew away as he called her name to wake her up.

Opening her eyes, Natalie was a little confused at first at where she was exactly, but finally she remembered that she was in Thailand and with Stephen. Moving her eyes, she saw his blue ones staring intently at her. "Where are we?" she asked as she sat up straight in her seat.

"I'm not that sure," Stephen admitted. "I know we're on the Phohen road, but there's a fork coming up, I don't know where to go."

"Oh, well just take the one on the left," Natalie said after thinking a moment. She rubbed her eye for a moment and then smiled. "So you were paying attention to me earlier huh?"

Stephen shrugged, covering up his embarrassment that she'd caught him, and then started the car again. He drove quickly, since it was getting later in the day and soon enough he saw the fork in the road. Very easily, he turned to the left and continued on for another fifteen minutes before he turned to Natalie. "Any other roads now?" he asked.

"No, this is the one that goes direct to Clohet," Natalie answered. She looked out the windshield and cried in horror, "Stephen look out!"

Looking at the road, Stephen saw the car that was parallel to the road, stalled out. "Shit, hold on Natalie!" he yelled. He pressed down on the brakes, but since the roads were wet from a recent rain, the braking time was delayed. He pumped on the pedal instinctively, and felt the car start to hydroplane on the road. Hearing Natalie screaming, he tried to stop the car again, but it was no use. The Land Rover slid to the stalled car, and he threw himself on top of Natalie slightly since it was going to impact on his side.

Closing her eyes tightly, Natalie braced herself and the instant their car hit the other one; she heard the crunch of metal and breaking sound of glass. She thought to herself, 'We hit the car, it's going to stop right now and we'll be okay.'

The car twisted around, leaving the dirt road and plunging into the jungle on the side. The slight incline in the land made the Land Rover flip over once, twice and then third and final time as its passengers were ejected from it.

When Natalie realized that she wasn't moving any more, she opened her eyes and took stock of herself. "No, bones broken," she murmured. "No sprains." Slowly she sat up and realized that despite cuts on her forehead and arms, she was fine. "Stephen," she said to herself. She got up and looked around her, spying a patch of white in the green grass and brown earth. Running over to it, she could see that it was her partner; and he was unconscious. "Oh no, oh god," she whispered. Getting on her knees next to him, she looked over his body. She could see that there weren't any visible broken bones or sprains, but he had a gash on his arm that would need stitches and a cut on his temple that was nearly gushing blood along with other cuts.

Her first instinct at that point was to lie down next to him and sob uncontrollably. But that feeling quickly dissipated and was replaced with the firm belief she needed to do what she could to help him. She ran over to the Land Rover, which was completely totaled, and grabbed all the equipment and two small bags that were hers and Stephen's. Taking two boxes, she ran back to her partner and set out to work. Gently she pressed a square piece of gauze to his temple, she stared at his face while she waited, and remembered that he had tried to cover her body with his own before the crash and her emotions flared up again.

Natalie brushed it away and while she began to stitch up his wounds, a single tear snaked its way down her cheek. That was all the emotion that she showed and that was it until she was finished.

It took her almost an hour, but finally, the last cut on Stephen's body was treated and she was satisfied that those were all the wounds he'd sustained. Her body started to scream at her because it was feeling intense exhaustion; she ignored that and then started to treat herself. She was lucky because none of her cuts were as serious as his were, so she soon finished. Sitting on her knees next to her partner, she tried to think of what she needed to do now. She was at a loss though, and finally gave into her earlier temptation. She lay down on the muddy earth next to Stephen and lay her head on his uninjured shoulder, getting as close to him as she could. Shivering from the cold as dusk settled around them, she cried silently, hoping that he would come out of unconsciousness soon.

Luckily her wish was granted and Stephen was shortly groaning loudly in pain as he came to. Opening his eyes slowly, he felt various areas of his body throb in dulled pain and he remembered the accident. "Nat?" he asked, tried to sit up.

"Stephen, wait, it's alright," Natalie said quickly, getting on her knees. She watched as he moaned from pain and then lay back on the ground. "I'm okay, and you got some cuts that I had to stitch up."

"Help me up," Stephen said once he'd taken in her words. Once he was sitting up, he looked at her to see if she really was okay. "I'm sorry for crashing."

"It's okay," Natalie said. "Believe it or not, I got in an accident the same exact way when I first learned how to drive."

Smiling, Stephen felt laughter well up in his throat and then he started to chuckle. Immediately he felt pain in on his head and then it spread to his whole body. "Oh god," he groaned, leaning forward.

"Take it easy," Natalie said worriedly. She touched the back of his head and then was completely shock at what he did next.

"We have to get to that resort somehow," Stephen said through gritted teeth as he leaned against Natalie. "But we have no car."

"I don't think it's too much further," Natalie said soothingly. She hesitated for a moment and then began to stroke his hair softly.

Closing his eyes, Stephen took comfort in her caress, letting it take away the aches in his body. "I don't know if I can walk," he finally said.

"We can try," Natalie said firmly. "We need to try. I can't let you stay out here and die from exposure."

Stephen wished for a moment that he hadn't been the one who was injured so greatly, but then instantly put it out of his head. He couldn't stand the thought of Natalie hurt badly; he could barely take the fact that she had been wounded. "And you too, I'm in charge of you, so-" he started to say.

"Shh, we'll rest for a while, and then try to go," Natalie said. She closed her eyes then and rested her cheek on top of his head while her fingers started to play a little with his hair. She was starting to feel pain from her wounds, so she thought nothing of how close they were, or how much either one of them was enjoying this.

Ten minutes after that, the peace of the jungle was broken when there was the sound of a car on the road.

"Stephen, that's got to be help," Natalie said, opening her eyes. She didn't move though, and instead wrapped her arms around him carefully. "Help! We're down here!"

"Dr. Connor?" a male voice said as he appeared above them on the edge of the road. "Dr. Durant?"

"Yes, help us, Dr. Connor's been injured," Natalie said. When the man left her view, she looked down at Stephen, whose eyes were closed. "Stephen, stay with me okay? I'll get you to a bed I promise."

Despite her pleading, Stephen was unable to cooperate and his body slipped into unconsciousness as he reached up to touch Natalie's lips with his fingers. Before the blackness consumed him, the last thing he saw was her blue eyes, watching him worriedly and her mouth forming his name as tears ran slowly down her cheeks.