Thank you for your kind reviews. Sorry it took me so long to update; I have been in a very slashy mood recently, which made writing this fic extra-difficult. I had to read lots of het and re-watch the film - skipping the scenes with Jim and West so as not to be distracted by the homoerotic undertones - to get back in the mood. I will soldier on!

Selena and Hannah both looked at him. 'What plane?' They asked together.

'Ah . . . well . . . I saw a plane.'

'You saw a plane?' Selena asked frowning, her tone doubtful.

'No, I mean yes, before, back at the mansion,' Jim explained hurriedly, realising she thought his ordeal had left him somewhat confused. 'When they took Farrell and me away, you know, to kill us, and I got over the wall, and that's when I saw it . . . a plane.'

Jim saw Hannah look to Selena as if waiting to be told what to make of this unexpected revelation, but Selena's eyes were fixed on him, her face expressionless.

'And that's when I knew, you see, that Farrell was right . . .'

The confused frown reappeared on Selena's delicate features. 'What, about the human race dying out being a return to normality?' she interrupted incredulously, a trace of anger in her voice.

'No, no. About it being just Britain. That the rest of the world had cut us off, you know, to stop it spreading, but that they were carrying on just fine.'

Jim's gaze left Selena's and trailed of to the side, his thoughts lost in that moment as the intensity of it rushed back to him. The confusion, the realisation, the fear. The hope.

'And I knew that there'd be something on the other side, you know, if we could just make it.' He looked up and held Selena's wide-eyed gaze. 'That it wasn't all fucked.'

Jim gazed deep into Selena's soft brown eyes, willing her to see into him. He watched as understanding dawned, softening her features.

She opened her mouth to speak, releasing the breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding, but no words emerged.

'So, you're saying that there's people living normal lives out there.' Hannah broke the silence, speaking slowly and thoughtfully. 'That we just have to wait to be found, or find them or whatever, and then we can just . . . carry on, like this never happened.'

'Maybe,' Jim said softly, his eyes never leaving Selena's, willing her to say something.

She must have heard his unspoken plea because just then she opened her mouth to speak, a grin spreading across her face.

'Personally I think we should take this opportunity to move somewhere hot.'

'Nearly there . . .' Selena repeated, her voice choked with effort as she struggled to support Jim's weight. She moved forward in short steps, clutching his arm around her shoulders tightly, her other hand on his hip. As they reached the open door of the cab she released his arm so she could lower him to sit on its floor. He used his arms to push himself backwards and pull his legs in. Selena climbed in and knelt across from him, watching silently as he propped himself up against the seat. She nodded to the cushioned seat behind him. 'Want me to help you up?'

'No' Jim breathed, resting his head against the side and closing his eyes. 'Here's good.'

He took long, deep breaths as the pain slowly subsided. After a minute he opened his eyes to find Selena watching him, her pretty face visibly taut, her eyes bright.

Jim gave her a slightly shaky smile, weary from the physical exertion. 'I'll be fine you know.'

'I know.' Selena replied quickly, her voice small. She gave a small smile, acknowledging how unconvincing she sounded.

She shuffled over to Jim to sit cross-legged beside him, took the hand rested in his lap in her own and squeezed gently. She met his gaze as she spoke.

'I do know. It's just . . . it's hard, you know? Hard to really believe it . . . to allow yourself to hope. I mean, that's what we did before isn't it? Went to the mansion looking for 'the solution' and well . . .' Something darkened in Jim's eyes at the mention of the mansion and Selena trailed off. 'Well that didn't turn out too great,' she finished with a wry smile, her gaze trailing to the floor, not really knowing why she felt embarrassed all of a sudden.

'But I know this is different. I know that you saw a plane, and well, that's pretty much proof that things will be ok isn't it?'

Selena looked to Jim hopefully for reassurance but found him lost in thought, a slight frown on his face.

'Jim?'

He looked up and met her eyes. For a fraction of a second Selena thought she saw something behind them, but then it was gone. With one blink a protective barrier she'd not once seen Jim wear since the day she met him appeared before her. Protective of who, she wasn't sure.

He gave a weary smile and squeezed her hand. 'Sure it is.'

Selena's returning smile didn't reach her eyes, which were still searching his for some hint of what it was he was holding back.

'You should go find out where Hannah got to.' Jim said, retracting his hand from hers, ending their conversation. 'We should be setting off in a bit.'

Selena faltered slightly, but without the physical connection she felt unable to reach out to him, and she instinctively knew she wouldn't get anywhere if she tried.

'Yeah.'

There was a short pause before she climbed out of the cab and walked back up the path to the house. She wondered if Jim was watching her, but she didn't turn to find out. She opened the door and closed it again behind her. She leaned back against the solid wood and felt some small relief at the physical support. What had that been about? There'd been something there that Jim hadn't wanted to say . . . had been afraid to say. And that's when it hit her. That's what she'd seen in that moment where she'd looked into him and he was completely unguarded. Fear. She found herself shocked by the realisation. What was Jim afraid of? Of not recovering? Of being wrong about the plane? About it all being ok? But he was doing fine, and he'd seemed so sure before . . . Then she remembered it had come upon when she'd mentioned the mansion. Was he reliving the shooting? The moment when they'd took him and Farrell away to kill them, as he'd so bluntly put it? Possibly. But for some reason something told her it was more than that.