Disclaimer: I do not own The Day After Tomorrow or any of the characters. There is a spot in here that the idea was given to me by Clintronic Waldrop. I'll point it out when it comes.

Author's Note: This is my first The Day After Tomorrow story, and I hope you like it. Please review and let me know how you felt about it. I have several other stories written, and I need to know if I should post them or not! Thanks and enjoy!

Summary: Sam, Brian and JD had been running from the freezing cold of the eye of the super cell. But, instead of them all making it back just fine, Sam breathes in the incredibly cold air, and gets very sick. Laura wakes up to see him dying, but awake, and they share their feelings while the others rest. Will Jack make it to them in time to save his son? PG-13 for mild language and tense scenes

Review Responses: Thank you sooo much to those of you who reviewed…I've never had any reviews on the first week I posted a story…let alone the first day! I love you all you make me feel so special…lol. But there were a couple questions/comments that I wanted to respond to:

Clintronic Waldrop: You are still the person who has given me the best reviews, and you keep me posting as fast as I am! Thank you so much for the inspiration!! You are so sweet!

Kelly9: Wow…that is the most constructive review that I've ever gotten…thank you so much. You have no idea how much that means to me. I hope I can keep the story going well, thank you for pointing those things out, now I know exactly what to do! Thank you soooo much!!

Maigain: I hope I posted more in time…lol I've been gone most of the day so I'm working on this pretty late, I hope I can get it posted soon. I've never posted so consistently before, but I think its because f all the great reviews I'm getting from you guys so please keep it up! They help me keep going!

Sarah: I don't want to give anything away, but it's going to be a few chapters before Sam wakes up. I'm not 100 sure where I'm going to go with this, but I know what I'm going to do up until chapter 11 I think.

All: Thank you soo much for the reviews, please keep sending them with critiques and especially ideas! I need to know what you all want in order to keep it to your liking! Lol you all inspire me so much!

And now, on to the next chapter!


CHAPTER 6: The 'Rescue'

JACK

"I think you'd better come with us." Those words were bouncing around in my head. What did that mean? What the hell did that mean?! Why did he look so much in pain? What was going on? My heart raced, my mind refusing to realize what could have happened to my son.

I followed Laura, Brian, and a boy that I didn't recognize, who were all trudging through the snow with a defeated slump of their shoulders, and sadness in their eyes. We traveled up a flight of stairs, and Jason and I were led to a room with an orange glow showing under the door.

"Laura, what's going on?" I questioned frantically, afraid of what I was going to find once I walked into the room. She merely looked at me, tears brimming her eyes. She took my arm, and tugged gently, until I finally crossed the threshold into the warm room, free of ice and snow.

"Mr. Hall, Sam's over here," Brian called from in front of the fire place, kneeling down so he was just barely visible over the back of the couch. I glanced at Laura, and then ran to his side. Lying on the ground before him was my son. His appearance made me gasp. He was extremely pale, and his face was covered in sweat, and his breathing didn't seem consistent.

"Who are they, how did they find us, what are they doing here?!" a girl questioned frantically, backing away from Jason and I. I ignored her, and looked back up at Brian.

"What happened to him, what happened to Sam?" My voice cracked in the middle of my sentence. Laura came over and knelt down across from me, on the other side of my son. Her eyes were full of worry and fear, matching my own emotions perfectly.

"Well, see…he uh…we don't know exactly what happened, other than…" He paused, seemingly not wanting to continue. I spun around and rose to my feet.

"Other than WHAT, Brian? What the hell happened to my son?!"

He took a deep breath, his brow furrowing with frustration. That's when it hit me at how seriously hurt me must be, and how much pain his friends were in watching him suffer. Fear hit hard as he spoke. "Well, you see, Laura had gotten blood poisoning, so we had to find some medicine for her or she would die. We had gone out to the ship that is out there, and did find some. On the way out, the eye of the storm was passing over us, so we were trying to run from it as fast as possible. We all made it back just fine, save for Sam. He…he took a breath and got a lungful of the freezing cold air. He passed out a few seconds later."

Laura brushed some of the matted hair away from Sam's eyes, and opened her mouth to speak. "He's been getting worse ever since. We were looking for some food and water, because we're all getting hungry again, but Sam needs it the most. He's malnourished on top of being really sick. We have to do something for him."

"Jack, the helicopter is on its way, we have to get out there," Jason muttered. I glanced up at him, and nodded.

"Okay, everyone listen closely. We are going to hike out to the ocean and wait for a helicopter there, which will take us to the American Embassy in Mexico. Take only what you can carry for a long walk. But first I need to know everyone's name in case of an emergency." I turned to Jason. "Bring the sled over, I'm going to drag Sam on it."

As Jason grabbed the sled and Brian helped me place my dying son on it, I tried not to look at him.

"Mr. Hall, this is JD, Elsa, Luther, Judith, and…" As Laura rattled off the names, I unintentionally tuned her out, concentrating more on my son than anything. A few of the strangers came over to me and shook my hand, thanking me for saving them, and did the same for Jason.

"But why are we going all the way to Mexico?" the young woman named Elsa questioned quietly. I turned to her, not wanting to admit the truth, that the entire northern United States had been destroyed.

"We have to go to Mexico because that is where everyone in the country was evacuated to. I will explain everything to you once we get there and are all safe. For now, we have to get moving. Every second wasted is another second that we risk hitting a lingering storm."

"Stay calm, everyone, please, it will make our trip to the helicopter so much easier if you all just remain calm. We will get you out of here and to safety soon." No one protested, but everyone remained silent. It seemed to me like the truth and the reality of what had happened to them had started to sink in.

I gripped the rope tightly, and lead the group out, with Sam dragging close behind me. I prayed with all my heart that he would make it, that he was strong enough to fight just a little while longer, until we could get him to a hospital. Brian, JD and Jason helped me carry Sam down the stairs, and we made our way out past the Statue of Liberty, to where a helicopter was waiting in the distance, the rotor blades spinning too fast for the eye to see.


LAURA

As we walked, I kept a close eye on Sam. If it was possible, he looked like he was even paler than before. The one time that we stopped to rest, I sat on the ice next to him, taking his hand and not leaving his side. Mr. Hall did the same thing, but neither of us spoke. A couple of times I glanced up to look closely at Sam's father, smiling at how much his son looked like him. His eyes held a great and terrible pain, and I could only imagine how hard it was to see the son that he barely ever saw, laying on a sled, slowly slipping from life's loose grip.

"Okay, let's keep going, we're almost there!" he finally called to the others. For a moment I didn't move, and he held out his hand to help me up. I took it gratefully, and held eye contact with him for a few moments. It seemed like a silent bond had been created then, we being ones that loved Sam more than anything and being willing to do anything for him.

"Thank you, Mr. Hall." He only nodded, then turned to keep walking. I followed a little behind, so I could continue my watch over Sam.

When we reached the helicopter, Sam was lifted in first, and then the rest of us were allowed to climb in. It was about ten minutes before we could take off, and the air was choppy.

"It's alright, we're just experiencing some turbulence, that's all, nothing to worry about." Almost as soon as those words came out of Mr. Hall's mouth, the helicopter dropped sharply.

"Everyone, we are going to make an emergency landing! Hold on tight, it may be a little choppy!" the pilot called from the front. I looked down at Sam, fear for him gripping my heart and not letting go. Whimpers and scared murmurs filled the copter. We slowly made our way towards the icy ground, bouncing roughly a few times before coming to a stop.

"Okay a few of you go first, then I need to pull Sam out once there is a little room!" Jack ordered loudly. Brian, JD and I leapt out first. When I hit the ground I slid, and JD caught me before I could fall.

"Thanks," I muttered as we turned back to the helicopter. We were standing a little ways back, away from the blades. Mr. Hall was standing just outside the chopper, and Jason was lifting Sam out to him. A sudden gust of wind caught in the still-moving rotor blades, lifting the helicopter up and slamming it down again. I screamed, grabbing Brian's arm. Jack was thrown away from Sam, and his son was dropped to the ground a few feet from the blades.

"No," JD whispered, and I saw what he was seeing: the large machine turning in a slow circle, moving the blades closer and closer to Sam. They were still moving fast enough to kill him should they hit him.

"Sam!" Brian yelled. I turned to my friends for a second, deciding then and there that I would do what they had done for me, and I would risk what Sam was coming so dangerously close to losing. Sam had gone out to save my life, at the risk of losing his own, and I wasn't going to let him go now. He still had to know that I love him, be it that I tell him or that someone else does. He just has to live long enough to hear how much I love him.

"Oh, God, please be with me now," I whispered to myself, as I ran forward. I heard Brian, JD and Mr. Hall all yelling my name with fear, but I didn't let them phase me. Sam was the one person that meant more than anything to me, I didn't want to lose him. I slipped a little running to him, but I managed to get there and grab onto the rope of the sled and pull him away. My mind barely registered something hitting my arm. Sam was the only thing that mattered to me.

"Laura! Laura, oh, my God, are you okay? What were you thinking?!" Brian yelled, mixed feelings on his face.

"Brian, I was saving your best friend's life! He's made it this far I won't give up on him now! Wait, what do you mean am I okay?" Even as I was saying the words, I felt something wet and sticky flowing down my arm, soon followed by an incredible pain. "Ah, damn it…boy, that smarts," I winced. I knew that the blades had hit me, and I also knew that I was very lucky that it hadn't done worse.

"Here, let me wrap this around it to stop the bleeding. Are you okay?" I nodded, tears jumping to my eyes, but I pushed them back.

"Hurry, though, I'm worried about Sam, that jolting might have hurt him or something."

"Sam's okay, his dad is checking on him now, I think he might be conscious."


(Sorry to end it that way! Lol. The whole Laura risking her life to save Sam was also Clintronic Waldrop's suggestion, thanks so much again! If you have any ideas for me please let me know! Also, a little heads up, I won't be able to post anything till after the weekend cause I'm going to my dad's and my computer is screwed up there, so I have to wait till I get back!)