Sudden silence. Josh sits up slowly, checking for any injuries; he calls out to Nikki. She's still strapped in next to him, unconscious and not moving. Fumbling with his seat buckle in a near panic and finally releasing it, he reached for her, feeling her neck for a pulse.

(God not again, please), her pulse is strong, heaving a sigh of relief; he carefully feels her neck and prays that it's okay. Not feeling any obvious injury, Josh unbuckles her and lays her across the seats. Then he checks for any obvious injuries. He doesn't feel any obvious fractures, everything seems okay, but she's still unconscious. (can't believe this is happening)

Josh then went forward to check on Dave. Muttering to himself when he saw him, "He's gone... massive head injury." A large tree branch had come through the windscreen when they crashed.

Going back to Nikki and kneeling by her… "Please, Nikki, honey, please open your eyes," kissing her forehead and cupping her cheek through falling tears. Another few minutes pass... feels like hours... and she slowly starts to wake.

"Nikki, there you are, you have to stop doing this to me," leaning over and kissing her forehead. "Don't try and get up yet; just rest for a bit."

"Josh, what happened? she asks weakly. "The last thing I remember is bending over, a horrific crash of thunder and the plane shaking."

"Dave wasn't able to make the water landing. We crashed, but not in the water. We must be on that island that Dave saw."

Nikki begins to cry, "This can't be real…"

"Hey, Hey, it's going to be alright," cupping her cheek and kissing her forehead. Stay here, don't get up. I'm going to do a walk around and make sure that there isn't a fuel leak. I'll be right back; sit tight." Before leaving the plane, he grabbed one of the plane's blankets and covered Dave.

The plane was tipped slightly to the right, putting the double cabin door facing down. Trying the door, Josh finds the door to be jammed; laying on his back, he kicks at it with both feet. After several hard kicks, the door popped, swinging fully open and allowing him to slide out of the plane and into the hot, moist, tropical air. Walking around the plane, Josh didn't find anything troublesome. He climbed back in.

"Are you ready to try and sit up?" he asked Nikki.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Okay, just sit for a minute; I'll grab our packs and toss them out the door. I saw a survival kit that Dave kept back there. I'll grab that too. Then we'll get you out of here."

"Okay."

Once he had everything out of the plane, he went back to Nikki and had her try to stand.

"How are you do'n?"

"A little dizzy, my head hurts."

Josh is worried about another head injury (what could I possibly do?) "Okay, Luv, I'm going to slide out the door, then I'll catch you as you slide out. Ready?"

"Okay, ready,"

Once he's out, he turns and faces the door, "Okay, feet first and slide yourself down here." Catching her, he helps to get her away from the plane and into some shade, then sits down next to her. They just hold each other while looking at the wrecked plane, trying to wrap their heads around what had happened.

"Josh, what are we going to do? We don't have a radio; we were off course, so they won't know where to look…"

"We're going to survive, Baby; that's what we're going to do. We came away from that plane crash; we can do this," then kisses her lightly.

"Poor Dave, we need to do something; we can't leave him there."

"We will," Josh says. "There are a few more things that I want to get from the plane. I'll be right back."

"What are you thinking?"

"The Esky, all the blankets and pillows. I want to look for a flare gun." Josh gathered up the blankets and pillows and tossed them from the plane. Next, he got the Esky which still had several sandwiches and sodas. Finally, he found the flare gun under the co-pilots' seat, with four reloads.

Collecting everything, he moves it over to where Nikki is sitting. "Are you up for a hike? We need to try and get to the beach."

"I'll be okay."

"Baby, I need you to take it easy. This is your second head injury in just a few months."

"I promise, if I get tired or light-headed, I'll tell you to stop."

Josh got out his and Nikki's socks and hikers from their packs. After changing into the hikers, he was able to add a few of the blankets to their packs; he'll come back for the rest later. Grabbing water, the trail marking tape, and his K-bar knife, he then turned to Nikki.

"Are you ready?" he asked while attaching the knife to his belt.

"Yeah, I think so. Josh, I'll be okay to carry my pack."

"Are you sure? I can come back for it."

"Yeah, I'm sure."

After helping Nikki to slip on her pack, he picks up his own.

"At least we'll be going downhill," Nikki says with a grin.

"One bit of luck; the forest isn't terribly thick here," Josh says as he sets off.

Setting a slow pace, Josh used the knife to cut through some of the brush, and he marked the trail with the tape as they go. It was hot, and after 10 minutes, they took a short break before they started off again. Five minutes later, Josh stops. "Nikki, can you hear that?!"

"The surf! Thank God!"

Not long after, they broke through the trees and onto a beach. If it weren't for how they got there, it would be the perfect holiday beach: soft white sand, turquoise blue water, palm trees. Finding a suitable spot in the shade, they dropped their packs. Josh leaned against a tree, and Nikki sat between his legs, leaning back against him. Wrapping his arms around her, they sat like that for a while, as reality really started to set in. Nikki began to cry softly, "Josh, I'm scared. What if they don't find us?" Josh leaned forward, pulled her closer, and kissed the top of her head. "Yeah, I'm scared too, but we've got each other; we do the best that we can. We take care of each other." Contemplating their situation, Josh begins to formulate a plan.

"We have enough water for today and possibly tomorrow, but we'll need to find a water source tomorrow."

"We've got sandwiches, cold water and sodas in the Esky," Nikki added.

"Yeah, that will get us through a day or so. Gon'na have to go back and get that and the rest of the stuff. At least it's not that far. I read that if you bury your Esky in the sand, it helps to insulate it."

"If the ice keeps, maybe we can keep the sandwiches through tomorrow," Nikki added.

"I think the first thing is, we should get a signal fire going."

"Josh, what about Dave?"

"I've been thinking about that too. There's a large sheet of aluminium that tore from the wing. I think that I can make a sled with the rope we brought, wrap him in a blanket, secure him to the sled and move him down to the beach. It will be too hard to dig up there. Too many rocks and roots."

"How do you plan on fixing it so he doesn't fall off?"

"We'll use the shock cords that we brought. We can probably bring the rest of the stuff down too. I'll bring a day pack just in case we want to bring anything else."

"So, sounds like a plan. When do you want to go?"

"Let's rest a bit more and get that signal fire burning. How are you feeling? Head okay?"

"I'm okay." Nikki checked her watch; it was almost 3:30."

Ten minutes later, Josh got up. "I'm going to start collecting some wood for the fire."

" I can help."

Looking at her with concern, "alright, please don't overdo it."

"I won't… promise."

Scouring the bush, they were able to amass a fair about sticks and branches and some dried grass to get it all started. They built their fire, and Josh lit it using the stick lighter from his pack. Once it was going well, they added some wet seaweed to make it smokey.

"I guess that'll do. We should try and keep it going. Tonight I'll set my watch to wake me every two hours."

"Are you up to going back to the plane?" Josh asked.

"Yeah, gotta get it done. I'm coming with."

"Alright, I can use a hand. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm sure."

Going over to the packs, Josh got one of the day packs and added 2 of the planes blankets, the shock cords and the rope. After adding water to Nikki's pack, they started back up the trail they made towards the plane.

Fifteen minutes later, they were back at the plane. Hauling the broken piece of wing from the plane, Josh assembled the sled near the plane's door. First, he attached the pulling rope and then a second rope to the back end so that Nikki could apply braking to keep it from losing control as they are going downhill. Next, he laid the three shock cords down. He had Nikki help him place the piece from the wing on top of them. Finally, he laid out two of the blankets to wrap Dave in.

"Alright, Nik, I'm all set. Can you help me get him out of the plane?"

"I'll do my best. Where do you want me?"

"Climb on up inside," then Josh followed her up. "I'm going to cut away his seat belt, I'm sorry, but this is going to be unpleasant. After I cut away the seatbelt, steady him until I get outside. Then I want you to push him towards me. Hopefully, the angle of the plane will help slide him out. Ready?"

Nikki climbed up into the cockpit and almost lost it when she saw Dave. "Josh, this is so awful…"

"It is. Try not to think about what you're doing. Detach yourself; it's the only way."

Taking a deep breath, Nikki positioned herself to hold onto Dave. Josh cut the seatbelt, and Nikki held him steady while Josh climbed back out. Positioning himself near the door, Josh gave Nikki the go to give the pilot a push. He slid out of the seat, and his upper body tipped into Josh's arms.

"Okay, Nikki, can you come back out and try and lower his legs to the ground?"

Dave was heavy, and Nikki did her best, but she couldn't support his legs, and they ended up falling. "Sorry, Josh."

"No worries, Babe."

The sled was positioned to make it easier for them to roll Dave onto it. Before wrapping the pilot in the blankets, Josh removed Dave's Cell phone, wallet and keys. Nikki wiped tears as she helped wrap him in one of the survival blankets and secure him to the 'sled' with the bungee cords. The wing piece was longer than Dave, so Josh was able to attach the Esky and the plane's survival kit along with the extra blankets onto the end. The pillows they stuffed into their day packs.

"Going to go through the plane one more time and see if there is anything else that might be useful."

Nikki nodded, "Okay."

Going back into the plane, Josh decided to take the webbing from the seatbelts and then on his final search, he found Dave's 9mm tucked under his seat with 2 full magazines and Dave's overnight bag.

"Nikki, I found his 9 mil under his seat. Probably good to have."

"Yeah, what do we need the webbing for?"

"Don't know, just thought it might be good to have."

"So... I guess we're ready. Let's do this. Nikki, can you hang on to the backend rope and If the sled starts to slide too fast, lean back and try to slow it down?"

"I'll give it my best."

With some effort, Josh was able to get the sled moving toward their trail. An arduous thirty minutes later, they were back at the beach, very sweaty and very tired. Josh's shoulders were aching from pulling the 82 kg (180 lb) man downhill. Leaving the sled, they went and sat in the shade for a few moments. Josh grabbed Dave's overnight bag and brought it over to what would become their campsite.

"I'll put some more wood on the fire," Nikki said.

" Alright, good. I'm going to take care of Dave's personal stuff." Getting out a waterproof bag from their packs, Josh got Dave's wallet, keys, laptop, and cell phone, put them in the waterproof pouch, and returned them Dave's overnight bag to be given to his wife when they got out of there.

After tending the fire, Nikki joined him.

"I'm going to go for a swim, join me? I'll start digging for Dave when the sun starts to set, and it's a little bit cooler." Josh said.

"I'm in for a swim, and we can take turns digging."

"Nikki, you don't have…"

Nikki interrupts, "We're a team."

"Alright."

Stripping down to their nothings, they held hands and headed to the water. They floated and relaxed and then turned playful. Nikki put her hands on his shoulders, jumped up, wrapped her legs around his waist, and kissed him, which led to a make out session.

"Josh, I can't believe that we survived and unharmed. It's so horrible about Dave."

"Dave did a great job getting us down."

"How long do you think it will take for them to find us?"

"Well…I really don't know. We need to be prepared to stay awhile; I think."

Returning to the blanket that they had spread out, they dried off. Josh slipped his shorts back on but didn't bother with his shirt. Nikki did the same and opted to just wear her bra. It was hot.

Josh checked his watch; it was almost 5:00. (Guess that's why I'm getting hungry) "How about we break out some sandwiches and sodas? I'm starving."

"I'm with you; I'm starving too."

While they were eating, they talked about what they should do with the campsite.

"Josh, should we put up the tent in case of afternoon showers or rainstorms? And I was thinking, maybe we should dig a trench to put our things in. Line it with a survival blanket and then use one over the top. Should hopefully keep things reasonably dry until we can build a lean-to maybe."

"Sounds like a good plan. Are you sure that you haven't done this wilderness camping thing before?" Josh teased.

After they finished eating, Josh got out his camp shovel and started on the trench. Taking turns, they got it finished in 30 minutes. They lined it with one of the Survival blankets. Nikki spread another one of the survival blankets, emptied and sorted their backpacks. She organized all of their clothes, towels, toiletries into one pack that would fit inside the tent. Then placed what they weren't going to keep in the tent inside the second pack. The second pack and the Esky went into the trench along with the plane's survival kit. Josh wrapped the Esky in a survival blanket, hoping that the food would keep one more day. Now they set up the tent with their self-inflating mattress, blankets and pillows and their electronics.

When they were done, Nikki took a picture of the camp with her phone."

Josh looked at her curiously…

"Might as well keep our photo journal going."

Josh chuckled and pulled her in for a kiss loving that she could take their situation in stride now that the shock of it had passed.

Another short break, more wood on the signal fire, they picked a spot well above the high watermark to bury Dave. Josh started digging on the far side of the signal fire. Nikki grabbed their largest pot and started digging as well. The sand was fairly easy to dig in except for a few stones. An hour and a half later, they were done. Leaving Dave wrapped in the blankets, they dragged the sled over to the hole, carefully slid him in, and then covered him. They stood quietly, holding hands for a few moments.

"Tomorrow, I'll make a marker," Josh said.

Hand in hand, they walked to the water, stripped down and rinsed off the sand. Returning to their blanket, they set their clothes aside and got dressed in clean clothes from their packs.

Josh put some more wood on the fire and then returned to the tent and laid down next to Nikki. Pulling her close.

Nikki quietly started to weep, "Josh, how are we ever going to be found? What if no one comes? We lost power and electronics, so there wasn't a signal where we went down."

"We keep on going. We have each other, and we'll take care of each other. We'll be okay. I guess we will be putting some of the Naval Survival Training into practice, ay."

Nikki snuggled into Josh, and they were finally able to sleep.

Day 2:

Nikki came back from her trip into the woods. "We need to dig a latrine or something."

Josh was starting a cooking fire, "Yeah, we should. Today we need to find fresh water and hopefully some fruit other than coconuts."

Josh made them a breakfast of oatmeal with dried fruit and coffee. "We should probably ration the food we brought, try and make it last longer. Who knows how long we'll be here."

Josh dished out the oatmeal, poured the coffee, and they sat by the fire to eat.

"I'll go through Dave's Pilot's Crash Survival Kit after breaky and see what we've got," Josh said.

When they finished, Nikki cleaned up while Josh started pulling things out of the survival kit and laying them on a blanket.

"Crikey! There's an impressive amount of supplies here. Along with the usual stuff that you would expect to find, there are some gems. There's fishing line and hooks, extra powerful flashlights, more flares, another saw; that's going to come in handy. There's a lot of good stuff…duct tape!"

"Any food?"

"Water tablets and packets, 2 dozen high energy bars," Josh separated out the things that they could immediately use and packed the rest back in the case.

" Are you ready to go look for water?" Josh asked her.

"Yup."

"I'm going to look through the plane again. Maybe there is a tool kit. I want to try and remove the VHF and battery. I'll have to make a small sled to get them down to the beach," he said, grabbing the rope and snap cords and adding them to his day pack.

They loaded their day packs with containers to carry the water they hope to find, along with two energy bars and bug spray. Once everything was sorted, they picked up their packs and started up the trail.

"How do you want to do this?" Nikki asks.

" My thoughts are that we could use the plane as our central point and go out from there."

" Makes sense."

Once they reached the plane, they took a break, sitting in the shade.

"When we get back to the plane along with the radio and battery, I want to try and get some oil from the engine; it will help to make the fire really smokey."

"What are you going to put it in?"

"The washer fluid container."

"Our beach camp is west from here," says Nikki getting out the compass. "What do you say we go east to start."

"Okay by me."

Nikki used the compass to keep them on an easterly heading, while Josh used the trail tape to mark their trail as they hiked along.

"How long do you think we should go before trying a different direction?" Nikki wondered.

"An hour?"

"Jeez, I hope it doesn't take that long."

"Yeah, copy that."

They had been hiking uphill for about 30 minutes, lost in their own thoughts when Nikki stopped.

"Do you hear that?"

Listening, "Yeah, I do. Sounds like a large stream or small river."

Picking up the pace, they moved ahead towards the sound of the water that was getting louder the closer they got. Then the trees opened up, and they were staring at a small waterfall about 15 m (50 ft) high that fell into a shallow pool and then emptied into a small river. Along the edges of the tree line were frangipani bushes lending an exotic feel.

Momentarily speechless… "OH MY GOD! It's so beautiful!" Nikki exclaims.

Josh pulls her in close and kisses her. "I think we've found our water source," he said with a chuckle.

Hot and sweaty from their climb, they looked at each other and started shucking off their clothes.

"Last one in cooks!" Josh said, running and jumping in the pool. " Shit! It's colder than I expected!"

Nikki was laughing at him as she eases herself in. After being in the water for a few minutes, the cool water felt wonderful, and it was nice getting the salt and sand rinsed off.

Getting out, they found a nice spot in the sun to dry off. Josh leans over her and kisses her like he may never kiss her again. The whole catastrophe really started to hit him, just how close one or both of them came to dying. (How would I ever be able to survive here alone, without her? How would I ever go on? And Nikki, what would happen to her if it were the other way around?)

"Nikki, I love you so much; I can't say it enough."

"I love you, Josh, so...so much. I can't even imagine what I would have done if I lost you in the crash."

Lying there in the sun near the pool, they make love with the waterfall as their music.

Later, they got dressed, filled their containers, and headed back to the beach holding hands when the trail allowed.

Forty minutes later, they were back at the plane. Nikki found a spot in the shade while Josh climbed back inside to scavenge some more. In the back of the baggage area, he found the tool kit he was hoping would be on the plane and proceeded to remove the radio. Next, he hoped to find a basic manual for the aircraft. That he found in a storage compartment near the co-pilot's seat.

"Nikki! Can you catch the radio if I hand it down to you? It's not too big. I'll pass you the tools too."

"Okay, sure."

Laying on his stomach, Josh lowered the VHF to Nikki. She set in down on the ground then reached for the tool kit. Josh slid out of the plane with the manual.

Sitting in the shade with Nikki for a few minutes, Josh looked over the manual and learned where to access the oil line. Because the plane had crashed with the wheels up and nose down, Josh would be able to get into the engine compartment from a side panel. Using the planes tool kit, he removed the panel on the side of the engine compartment. Then went ahead and removed the battery and the washer fluid container. Cutting a length of hose from the engine, he attached it to the oil drain valve spilling the oil into the container that he had ready.

"Okay, Nikki, let's get this stuff loaded on to the sled and get back to the beach. We've got a bit to do before sunset."

"When do you think that they will start looking for us?"

"Well, we were due into East Timor around 4 yesterday. I imagine that when we were a no show that it would have been reported."

"He would have filed a flight plan. Maybe we didn't stray too far off course in the storm," Nikki added.

"We can hope."

Back at the beach, they unloaded the water and set the radio and tools aside. Josh put more wood on the signal fire and added some of the oil, producing the thick black smoke as he had hoped.

"We're going to have to gather more wood before nightfall," he called out.

"Do you want to work on a lean-to?" Nikki asked him.

"After a nap, join me?"

Laying down in the shade, they promptly fell asleep. They had been sleeping about 30 minutes when Nikki woke to the sounds of thunder. Sitting up, she sees a darkening sky and lightning out over the ocean.

" Josh...Josh, wakey, wakey."

" Huh? What's up?" Then he hears thunder. "Oh, that. Good that we put up the tent."

" I would say. I guess the lean-to will have to wait."

"I'll go grab the solar chargers and headlamps. Help me cover over the trench?"

They quickly gathered the rest of their things and placed them in the trench, covering it over with the tarpaulin from the survival kit that they had rescued from the plane. Using rocks and logs, they secured it in place. The lamps and chargers went into the tent. Once that was done, they sat outside the tent and watched the lightning over the ocean as the storm came in, retreating into the tent once the rain reached them. Josh was resting his back against the backpack with Nikki resting her head in his lap, both of them reading while listening to the rain and thunder. As Nikki was lying there, she remembered how much Josh liked a good storm. The storm went on for about an hour.

"This isn't exactly what I imagined when you said that we would be wilderness camping," Nikki said with a chuckle.

"Huh, neither did I."

The rain had stopped…

"Josh, hungry?"

"Starving."

"Start the cook fire, and I'll heat up one of our camp meals."

"I'm going to have to re-light the signal fire too."

Later, as they watched one of the movies that Josh had downloaded onto his tablet, Nikki turned to Josh. "This is all too surreal…"

"I was thinking the same thing. I feel like we're in the TV show 'Lost' or something."

"We'll be okay?"

"We're lucky, cause we were to be camping for 2 weeks, we have a lot of supplies; should get us through. The plane will be reported lost, and search and rescue will be called out. They'll find us," Josh said.

"What if they don't…find us."

"Then we take it one day at a time. We've got each other. We're smart and well trained by the Navy. We'll be okay."

Snuggling close, they finished the movie. Josh plugged the tablet into the solar charger, and then they crawled into the tent to sleep. He pulled Nikki close, and she curled up next to him, using his shoulder as a pillow.

"Goodnight, Love you," Nikki said.

"Goodnight Luv, I love you too."

They both lay there and let the sound of the surf lull them to sleep.

Day 3:

In the morning, they made their breakfast as usual and then Josh got started on the radio. After a while, Nikki joined him.

"How's it looking?"

He shrugged, "It's looking fried. That strike was so hot it melted all the circuits. There isn't anything that I can do with it."

Nikki looked disappointed, "I guess I had my hopes up that that would be our ticket out of here."

"Well, it was worth a shot," Josh says. "What do you say we go and see if we can find some fruit."

"Sounds like a plan."

Packing their day packs with water and energy bars, they set off up the trail to the plane. It was slow going as Josh was still using his K-Bar knife to cut back some of the bushes and branches from what was becoming their main trail.

They finally reached the plane and stopped for a short break.

"We've been east, so… north or south?" Nikki asks.

" North."

"North it is then."

Setting off, the trail soon became rocky so that they were walking over large boulders and slightly uphill.

Josh stopped suddenly, "Bloody hell! Nikki! Look!"

Nikki comes up to him, "A WWII bunker! Wow! Could we use it as a shelter, do you think?"

"A storm shelter, maybe. I think we should stay near the beach mostly so we can keep an eye out for ships and keep the signal fire going."

"Makes sense; let's check it out."

Batting away some cobwebs, they step inside. It was dry and cool. There was a long opening near the top of the seaward wall, like a window and a 2 meter ( 6 ft ) wide platform along the back wall and approximately 0.5 meters ( 2 ft ) off the floor.

"Josh, this is perfect. A sleeping platform off the floor and a window for ventilation… this is a great find, don't you think?"

"I do. We'll need to come back and clean it up, and then we can store some supplies up here, keep them out of the weather. This will make the perfect storm shelter should we need it."

Leaving the bunker, they continued north for another 20 minutes when they came upon a banana grove.

"Josh, bananas!"

"Let's go on a little further; I'm feeling lucky."

Ten minutes later, "Nikki, I need a tree; I'll be right back," heading off the trail and into the trees. Then Josh yells, "Hey! A papaya tree!"

"I thought you were peeing," Nikki chuckles.

"Yeah, well, that too."

Nikki followed where Josh had gone. Meeting up with him, they picked some fruit, loading their packs. On their way back to their beachside camp, they stopped for some bananas. Reaching the bunker, they took a break for a power bar. It was a few degrees cooler inside, so they sat inside while they ate.

"This is such a great find," Josh remarked.

"Ummm, we should kit it out so that it will be set to go."

"Right, make a list and start on making it cozy. How about some curtains?" Josh joked.

It was late afternoon when they got back to the beach. After unloading the fruit into the lean-to that they had put together, they went for a swim.

After a supper of mac and cheese and some fruit, they took an evening walk on the beach. Nikki started collecting shells and found several to add to those that she had already found.

"When we get back, let's make a list for the bunker, and tomorrow we can start setting it up," Nikki suggested.

Pulling her close, he dropped a kiss on her head, "I vote we start with Tim Tams," making Nikki laugh.