The adventure in the wilderness continues! Thank you for your continued support, and to all who review! Happy Reading! :D

Tony stood by the river in the waning daylight, watching the current swirl the frigid water into little pools around him. The cabin sat not far from a bend in the river's path, allowing the water to slow its pace, creating an inlet where he knew there just had to be fish. If they weren't looking to move down river in the fast current, it would be the ideal place for them to hole up and rest. Now, to rig a trap, he thought. He knew he didn't have a lot of time in which to fashion anything elaborate, but he also knew that the design that he was thinking of could be stripped down to its more basic form, and still be very effective. He'd got the idea from seeing the lobster traps along the edges of the water as a kid in the Hamptons, and figured that would give him a good place to start. He wouldn't have the time to build a trap, per se, but more of a holding area to lure the fish to for now. However, the idea was the same in that you could lure the fish to the spot using some kind of attractant. Then, once they were inside, they wouldn't be able to escape back out the same way.

He began looking around for broken branches, kicking his feet in the snow to uncover them. Once he'd gathered quite a few sticks of relatively the same diameter (about 2 inches), he began sinking the ends of them vertically into the river bed, one by one, spaced equally apart, just enough to allow fish to swim through, but struggle to escape back out. The water in this spot was around a foot deep, and it made him cringe having to think about stepping into it, bringing to mind the night of the accident all over again, and having to tromp through the frigid water with Pepper unconscious in his arms, a million tiny frozen daggers needling his skin under its surface the whole way. But this time was worse, as he decided to raise his pant legs to his knees, so as to preserve their dry state as much as he could, consequently having to expose his bare skin to the icy water.

Holding tight the sticks in his arms, he swiftly stepped in the water, inhaling sharply at the sting of the cold. He worked diligently, huffing and grunting with each new step until finally, he'd made it across to the other side of the inlet, and happily climbed out onto the bank. "Whew," he breathed, stamping his feet to regain circulation in them, and bending down to lower his pant legs. When he'd finished, he raised back up and breathed into his chilled hands, the steam from it billowing out into the air in front of him as he rubbed them together. He surveyed his work, but wasn't quite satisfied. "Now, I need bait," he muttered, furrowing his brow in thought. Then he smiled. He knew just the thing.

He trekked the fifty yards distance from the river back to the cabin and walked inside, depositing his soaking wet shoes and socks on the rug by the door. Pepper was still softly dozing on the couch, unaware of his presence. He smiled softly to himself as he passed her, admiring how peaceful she looked at that moment, and walked into the kitchen.

There, he found the cans that she'd gathered still sitting in a group on the counter top. He searched through them for the creamed corn. "Aha," he said, once he found it. "C'mere, you." He tossed the can in his hand, and smirked. "Fish bait. The only acceptable use for this stuff," he said to himself.

He then began to search for a can opener, not having any luck. He frowned, but then heard a voice from the living room. "In the drawer, to the left of the stove," it said. He smirked and walked around the fireplace chimney, and into the view of a now fully awakened Pepper.

"You are supposed to be sleeping," he teased.

"I hope you don't think you're walking out of here with some of our reserves," she said.

"What, this?" he said, holding up the can with a smirk. "No. This is not food. This is what I'm going to catch our food with," he announced.

Pepper giggled. "You are bound and determined not to ingest any creamed corn during our time here, aren't you?" she teased back.

"You bet your sweet bippy, Potts," he replied. He looked at it, and made a face of disgust. "Bleck. Pure nastiness in a can," he said, shaking his head. "I think I'd rather starve if this was our only option."

"Which would make perfect sense, of course," she joked, sitting up. She winced. "Ooo, ow," she moaned, rubbing the bruised spot on her forehead.

"Hey, hey. Take it easy, huh?" Tony said, rushing to her to side. He crouched down in front of her, watching her with concern.

Pepper smiled at him reassuringly. "I'm fine," she said. "Just...sore."

Tony nodded in understanding. "I bet," he agreed. He picked up her hand, and gave the back of it a tender kiss. "Just relax, okay? I got this."

They smiled at each other, and Pepper nodded. "Okay," she murmured. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he murmured back, smiling softly, his eyes sparkling affectionately. Then he stood up, patting her knee sweetly before he rose. He moved to walk away, but suddenly stopped. "Oh, wait! I forgot to do something," he said, snapping his fingers.

"What. What did you..." Pepper started to say, but couldn't finish her question, as Tony suddenly planted a kiss on her lips. She let out a breathy, surprised squeak, and cupped his cheeks in her hands, letting herself melt into his kiss.

Slowly, the kiss broke, and they gradually opened their eyes to look at each other, grinning. "That. I just forgot to do that," Tony murmured to her playfully, shrugging.

"Shame on you," she teased.

Tony smirked. "I know, right?" he teased back. "It had been entirely too long since the last one. I was starting to have withdrawls." Pepper giggled, and cupped his cheeks again, pecking his lips. Tony moaned happily.

"Will that be enough to get you through for the time being?" she joked, her voice soft and sultry.

Tony grinned at their exchange. "I'll, uh...I'll try to make due," he joked back, making her chuckle. He slowly stood back up, gently kissing her forehead before coming to a standing position. He smirked and swiveled back around.

She watched him walk back into the kitchen, as a grin spread across her lips. He quickly returned a few moments later, having found the can opener, and now held the opened can of creamed corn in his hand, arm outstretched and a look of complete disdain on his face. Pepper laughed.

"Yuck. It even smells disgusting. Seriously. How do people eat this stuff?" he asked, walking to the front door.

"Might be the reason why it was one of the only things left in the cabinet," she offered.

"Good point," he said, setting the can down to put his socks and shoes back on. Pepper got up off the the couch, and walked around to the door to see him out. She frowned. "Why are your shoes and socks soaking wet? Were you in the water?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah. How else am I supposed to set up a trap to catch fish, Pep?" he asked.

"Aren't you cold?" she asked him.

Tony shrugged. "Freezing," he said. "But I don't have time to pay attention to that right now, do I?"

Pepper pouted. "Well, hurry back," she demanded. "And I'll find you some dry socks to change into. We'll hang those ones by the fire to dry. Not to mention your shoes! Oh, Tony!" she scolded, noticing those too were also dripping. "They're ruined!"

He frowned and looked down, and then looked back up at her. "What? Whadya' want me to do, Pep? I don't have a lot of options in the footwear department. The only other pair of shoes in the whole place are way too small."

Pepper huffed, and pursed her lips. "Hmmmm. Well," she said, defeated. "We don't need you becoming hypothermic, or getting sick, or..."

Tony stood up, went in for a quick kiss, quieting her worrying. "I'll be fine," he said, smiling, rubbing her upper arm. "Okay? Relax."

Pepper pouted some more, but stopped talking, and just nodded in agreement. "Okay," she murmured.

Tony yanked the door open, and took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing. Hopefully, this does the trick," he said, walking through the door. "I shall return," he announced ceremoniously, before walking away. Pepper smiled, and saw him out, closing the door behind him. Then she moved to the nearby window, and watched him as he tromped through the snow back to the river's edge, admiring his determination to take care of them.

She chuckled to herself, and shook her head in amusement. "My hero," she murmured, with a wry smirk.

XxXxXxXxXx

Tony made it back out to the water's edge, and successfully poured the can of creamed corn into the inlet. He shook the remnants of its contents out with one last hard shake, and watched it start to disperse into the water. "That oughta do it," he said. "And, now, we wait."

The sun had almost totally set. Everything around him was cast in a violet hue, as it sank behind the mountains in the distance. He looked around him, admiring his surroundings for a moment. Despite everything that had happened recently, it was a very peaceful place, and he did feel quite at ease there. The sound of the river soothed his mind, and he could only imagine how blissful it would be in the summer time, when it would be far more tolerable to be outside than it was now. He imagined being in this place with Pepper, in different circumstances than they found themselves in currently. He pictured lying on the bank on a blanket, with her in his arms, staring up at the clouds in the sky. They'd wile away a whole afternoon like that- just being together, totally alone, and falling in love. He closed his eyes, almost able to taste her kiss again in this moment, and smell the sweet scent of her sun-warmed skin. He imagined her propping herself over the top of him, and smiling down at him, her glittery golden-red hair falling all around. He'd raise up to kiss her lips, and would pull her into his arms, gently rolling them so that it was she who would be lying on her back, then. And he'd proceed to make love to her, slowly, with great tenderness and attention, forgetting all space and time to just be with her in the most intimate way possible. The RIGHT way, he thought. The way she deserves.

Just then, Tony was awakened from his reverie by a rustling across the river in the trees. "What the..." he said, popping his eyes open, and squinting into the gathering darkness. An animal-like form moved in and out of view, stalking back and forth, watching him as intently as he was watching it. He froze. "Oh shit," he whispered, suddenly realizing what it was that had crossed his path. His stomach dropped, and he quickly swiveled around, running as fast as he could back toward the cabin. He heard the eerie sound of the animal coming after him, crossing the river with a loud splash, growling menacingly. Tony could hear it come up onto the nearest bank, quickly closing the distance between them.

His heart pounded in his ears as he finally reached the porch, and dove to shove the front door open, glancing back only briefly to see the animal quickly gained ground behind him. Pepper was standing in front of the rekindled fire in the fireplace, and spun around in shock at the sudden commotion. "What in the world?!" she exclaimed, as Tony jammed the door closed again, and leaned his back against it, his chest heaving.

He gulped and took a deep breath trying to calm his nerves, looking at Pepper in wide-eyed panic. Then, he uttered the only two words needed for explanation- "Mountain Lion."