As they walked, along Jeanie found herself talking with a woman, Nancy, who was close to her age. Nancy got along well with the girls—apparently, she knew ASL because she had been a speech therapist for deaf children several years ago. Alicia was overjoyed to find a new friend who knew how to communicate with her, and the four females spent much of the hike signing with each other.

About mid-afternoon, they reached the top of a hill and looked down at a beach and sparkling blue water. A general sigh of relief went up from the group, and with renewed energy, they sped down the hill.

When they reached the beach, their first order of action was to build shelters. Nancy and Jeanie found branches, including fern-type branches, and used them to fashion a sort of shelter.

Later in the afternoon, while the children were taking a nap, Nancy and Jeanie were deep in conversation, and were surprised when they looked up to find Fred standing above them.

"Fred!" Nancy gasped, "Hi! I didn't even see you! How long have you been standing there?"

Fred grinned, "Just got here, actually. Uh, it looks like it's going to rain, and," he shuffled shyly, "I, uh, well…I haven't got a shelter yet, and I was hoping…well, that is…I was thinking…"

Jeanie smiled at Fred's discomfort. "Would you like to stay here till the storm passes and you have a shelter built?"

He blushed. "Would that be OK?"

Jeanie nodded. "Totally, right Nancy?"

Nancy smiled warmly, "haven't got a problem with it. Bring your stuff right on over."

Several minutes later, Fred was back with a backpack and a first aid kit. "Salvaged it from the wreck," he explained.

"Do you have any firewood yet?" he asked, looking around the shelter.

"No," Nancy explained, "the girls were getting tired, so we decided that we'd come back and rest a while."

Fred nodded in understanding. "Well, if someone would join me, I can go start gathering some.

Jeanie looked at Nancy. "You wanna go?"

Nancy shook her head, "Actually, if no one minds, I would actually like to stay here and rest some more."

"OK," Jeanie said as she stood up and brushed the sand off her jeans, "I guess that you're stuck with me, then."

"So," Fred said conversationally as they wandered through the trees, picking up any tinder that they could find on the jungle floor, "What brought you on the plane?"

"My sister-in-law's wedding." She laughed, "My daughters were the flower girls." She smiled as memories engulfed her.

"Sister-in-law?" He asked her, "So you're married, then?"

A distressed look passed over Jeanie's face. "Was," she explained, "My husband's dead."

"I'm sorry," he said ashamedly. "Was he on the plane?"

"No," she shook her head. "Actually, he was a SEAL. They said that he was killed in a training accident."

An uneasy silence ensued. "So…Why were you on the plane?"

"Business," he explained. "I'd had to go to Australia to close on a business deal and was returning to the states."

"Hmm. So what business are you in?"

"Ah…computers. Computer programming, that is. It was a, uh, a new type of banking program.

"So…do you do you do anything else besides being a mother?" he asked as he picked up another couple of sticks off the forest floor.

"Nope," she smiled, "I was going to be an accountant till I married David. Plans kinda changed after that." She laughed self-consciously, and they both fell silent, looking for something to say.

"Well. Would you say that we've gathered enough to last a little while?"

He looked over at her bundle and then at his. "Yeah, I'd say we're lookin' pretty good. Shall we?"

"Sounds like a plan," she agreed. "Besides, I seriously doubt that the skies are going to hold back much longer."

Thank-you, Whitewolf221, for reviewing. It was very nice of you:D I made the quick changes, and am going to try to fix up my speeding problem. Again, thank-you!

Review, and I'll send Charlie over with a jar of PB! lol