Title: The City Between Us
Chapter 5 – Growing Closer Together

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kelly shouted as the earth started to give way below him.

For a few seconds he squeezed his eyes shut and watched a few images flash before his mind's eye and it ended with an image of Erin's face pleading with him not to leave her. He sucked in his breath and then started to claw at the cold, snowy ground around him.

"COME ON!" Kelly called out as his boot finally caught something hard that didn't give way and his hands gripped a few cold stones still attached to the side of the mountain that held him in place and kept him from over all the way over the edge.

"Can't…leave…Erin…alone…" he gently gasped as he remained in place on his belly for a few seconds before he told himself that he had to get moving and get back up to the top before the ground below him decided to melt anymore and he'd have nothing left to hang onto.

"Pull…up…" Kelly wheezed as he started to dig his fingers into the cold, snowy ground and then put one foot up and then the other then pushed upward. "NOOOOOOO!" He shouted as he felt himself slip but dug his fingers deeper into the wintery ground and then held himself in place and tried again. This time the ground held and he was able to pull himself up a foot.

"Gotta…keep…going…" he huffed as he forced Erin's face into the forefront of his mind and then climbed another foot. "Can't…give up…gotta get back…to her…" Kelly kept reminding himself as he slowly clawed his way back to the top. The slide downward didn't seem very long but the climb back up seemed to take forever.

'Don't…leave me alone…promise me…you'll come back…'

"Made…a promise…" Kelly panted as he felt his lungs starting to slightly burn and his chest heave in and out. "Gotta….keep going."

Another step…another one…he saw Buddy's soulful face in his mind's eye but it was Erin's worried expression coupled with a longing for him to return. "Erin…!" With one last surge of energy he reached with his right hand, managed to find a thick root to grab onto and pull himself up to the top.

Kelly rolled onto his back and pushed himself back with his boots and rested for a few seconds while his head pounded and chest burned. "Erin…I'm…coming," he managed once more as he knew he couldn't just lie there and waste precious time – he had to get back to her, rest up and then start down the opposite side of the mountain.

"Erin…I'm coming back…" Kelly stated as he pushed himself up to his knees and then looked back in the direction of the plane. He took a deep breath and then allowed the cool air to rejuvenate his insides and then slowly stood back up. Despite their hellish situation, he looked forward to getting back to her to just relax a bit in her company before they started back out.

However, a few seconds later the silence in the pristine wilderness that surrounded him was broken by a loud 'BANG' that came from the direction of the plane and he knew instantly that something was wrong. And as he neared the plane and saw the fresh blood, his body pulsed with instant energy and he feared the worst!

"ERIN!"

XXXXXXXX

"BUDDY! NOOOOOOOOOO! COME BACK!"

"Buddy! Buddy…! NO!" Erin shouted as she watched in horror as Buddy pounced. The large cat bared its claws and Buddy stepped back a bit but still continued to bark madly.

"No gun…find the flare…where is the damn flare!" Erin growled as Buddy barked and then charged. "NOOO BUDDY!" Erin shouted as she finally found the flare gun and then the flare. But just as she tried to load the gun with shaking fingers Buddy let out a painful yelp and she could only watch in horror as the cougar had Buddy by the neck and then dragged him outside.

"BUDDY!" Erin called out once more in horror as she tried to steady herself on her broken leg but before she could take another step the snarling cougar stepped back into the entrance of the plane with fresh blood dripping from its teeth. "YOU DAMN BASTARD!" She yelled as her and the large cat engaged in a face off to the death for a few panicked seconds.

"You…bastard," Erin whispered as her eyes watered for the fate of the beloved dog. "You will die…"

The cat advanced.

"DIE!" Erin yelled as she fired off the flare. The small fiery explosion caught the large cat in the face that forced it to yelp loudly and stagger backward. "Buddy…" she lamented as she tried to load another just in case the cat decided it wasn't finished with her and came back to complete its task.

"I'm ready for you…" Erin huffed as she slowly sat down in the chair and aimed the flare gun at the door. "I'M READY FOR YOU! COME AND GET ME!" She yelled as she held her breath and then waited.

A few moments later she heard some stomping and raised the flare gun and prepared to fire.

"Erin!"

"Kelly!" She exclaimed as his face appeared and she held herself in place a few seconds longer. It was only until he took her into his arms and held her close that the dared to believe she was safe. She allowed herself to drown in the strength of his embrace and reveled in their current closeness.

"Thought…I lost you," he whispered as his head rested on his shoulder. He closed his eyes a few seconds as his mind flashed him back to the time he came up the small, snowy mound and saw the blood trail that came from the door of the plane and then disappeared around the back.

"Was…scared," she admitted in a soft whisper as his arms around her tightened. But the moment was broken as soon as they heard a whimper and both turned in haste to see Buddy standing in the doorway. "BUDDY! Kelly he was injured!"

"Hey…Buddy," Kelly said in a soft tone as he neared the injured dog who literally collapsed just as Kelly hoisted him into the air.

"Here…put him here!" Erin said as she limped toward the back and then arranged the two seats for Buddy to be put down on. "Kelly…how bad is he?"

"Looks like he has a cut here on his neck," Kelly told her as he quickly felt the rest of the dogs body and was relieved when he felt no broken bones and his hands came away free of fresh blood. "Okay…lemme see what I can do…I'm no vet but I think I can fix this."

"Buddy…he saved me," Erin lightly lamented as she tenderly stroked the golden lab's slightly trembling body. She quickly removed her jacket and draped it over him to give him a bit more heat as Kelly looked at her in surprise. "We can't lose him," she told Kelly as her hand rested on his shoulder. "We can't….lose him."

"We won't," he promised as Kelly's hand rested on hers and gave it a good squeeze for a few seconds before he looked back down and started to treat the dog's neck wound. "Rest easy boy…you're gonna be okay."

After that was done, Buddy was more than content to just rest where he was as Kelly slowly stood back up and then looked at Erin in concern.

"When I saw that blood…" Kelly started as she looked at the fresh scuff mark on his cheek. "Feared the worst."

"What…happened?" She asked in concern as she dropped her gaze to his scuffed and bruised fingers.

"Nothing much…nearly fell off a cliff," he replied with a nervous gasp as her eyes widened. "Promised you I'd come back…had to keep that. I got lucky."

She threw her arms around him once more and held him tightly as he tenderly stroked her back. "Glad you came back when you did…just don't ever die on me!" She stated lightly as she looked up with a small smile.

"Promise," he whispered as he gently brushed away a stray tear. "We ALL walk out of here together."

She rested her head on his chest for a few seconds before they both looked down at buddy and Kelly knew their current ordeal wasn't over just yet.

"I'll be right back…"

"But…"

"That cat might still be out there…"

"That was a lot of blood. I think Buddy got him more than we think."

"I also shot it in the face…maybe the neck also?" She pondered as he offered her a proud smile.

"I'll go look…if it's dead, we're gonna barbeque that sucker up and the three of us will have something to eat," he told her as she simply offered him a nod and his brows arched.

"We need it to survive. I'm not heartless…I'm practical."

"I know," he assured her as he took the flare gun and a large knife from the supply kit and then headed back outside while Erin turned back to see how Buddy was doing.

"He came back for us," she told buddy who lifted his soulful brown eyes and looked at her with soft distress. "Silly dog…you better pull through this."

Kelly remerged from the wreckage of the plane and then looked at the blood stains and started to follow it. With each footstep, his heart rate started to climb and he had to think about what he was about to do. But he knew their survival depended on it. They had only a few little food rations and it wasn't enough for them to keep alive for longer than a few days and in less than a day Buddy had cemented himself in their lives and they couldn't let him die either.

"If only the team could see me now," Kelly muttered to himself as he rounded another mound and stopped short as he spied the large cat in the near distance.

XXXXXXXX

"Anything?" Gabby asked her brother as he hurried into Firehouse 51 with some news as the rest of 51 looked on in anxious suspense.

"Did you hear from them?" Matt followed that up as Antonio's expression drooped.

"Nothing," Boden stated as Antonio looked at the 51 Chief and nodded.

"Voight is in upstate New York right now. He and Olivia Benson went to that airport and according to one of the staff she said she overheard two people asking a veteran pilot Sam Wallace if he was flying out. He usually flies to Idaho but she thinks they were able to convince him to fly them to Chicago as a detour."

"When…did they leave?"

"Yesterday," Antonio answered in haste. "But…he's a small plane said because of the storm he'd be flying VFR."

"What's that?" Gabby quickly interjected.

"Visual flight rules."

All eyes turned to see Benny Severide enter Firehouse 51 and near them. "Means they didn't have to file a flight plan."

"Correct," Antonio agreed gravely.

"Damn," Matt cursed under his breath.

"Voight and Benson are on it and they'll make sure that a search crew is sent out but if they flew over the Appalachians but they don't know where and that's a big area. We might not know something for days."

"Days?" Gabby shot back weakly as her Sister in law, Sylvie neared the small group. "Is there anything any of us can do?"

"Not right now. There was no mayday received but that doesn't mean anything."

"If they went down…and they're not severely injured, Kelly will get them out," Matt said confidently as he looked at Kelly's father Benny.

"Kelly's a fighter…he'll get them out," Benny repeated as Gabby's hand slipped into Matt's and squeezed it.

"Prayers wouldn't hurt," Boden suggested as everyone quickly agreed.

XXXXXXXX

Kelly readied the flare gun in his right hand and the knife in the left – just in case he needed both. He closed the last few steps and stopped.

The cat wasn't moving.

"Dazed…or just playing dead…" Kelly muttered as he stowed the flare gun and readied the knife for a death match. But this time, his fears wouldn't be realized and the kill on his part would be quick and merciful. He didn't want to do the dirty work so that Erin could see it so he set about gutting the animal, bleeding it out and then preparing to have it cooked for them to eat. He wasn't sure how good the meat would be, but told himself that if he cooked it well enough it was better than starving.

"Think it'll be okay if we split custody?" Erin asked Buddy who heard Kelly approach and tried to get up; once again driven by instinct to protect the human with him.

"It's just me!" Kelly called out as he neared and Erin quickly tried to reassure Buddy they were safe. "Hey…" he poked his head inside and Buddy started to happily wag his tail. "How is he?" Kelly asked as Erin tried to keep Buddy lying down.

"He missed you," she greeted with a smile as she slowly pushed herself up and slowly headed toward him. But as soon as she neared she noticed blood splatter on his jacket, jaw, some on his cheek and hands. "What…you found the cat."

"It's dead," he told her matter-of-factly. "I uh…I got it ready for cooking. I don't know how it'll taste but I know we can't last long on some crackers and granola bars. Figure if we cook this thing really good, we can last a bit longer. I'll make some for Buddy also. The parts we might not want to eat."

Erin looked at Kelly in wonder as he neared. "You…hunt then?"

"Like once or twice. Seen my dad kill a deer once when I was a teen and just remembered what he did. The cat was dead…your shot did the trick."

"Part of me still feels bad. It was beautiful."

"I know but out here…its survival of the fittest," he reminded her gravely. "I couldn't find much in the way of dry wood but I gotta cook that thing. I can burn some of the hair and bones but I need dry stuff. Gather up whatever paper you can find. I found a small packet of matches and I have marked out a spot away from any smell of fuel."

"You okay? Did you…it was dead when you found it right?"

"Yeah it was…the limp was uh…from the fall this morning and the crash," he offered lightly. "How's your leg?"

"Throbs a bit but I've been careful. So after that…what's next?"

"I figure we only have a few hours of daylight left and I wanna cook as much of that thing as I can. Cook it well…no rare tartare out here," Kelly gently joked; her expression softening as a result. "And then we'll pack up as much as we can and the three of us will set out tomorrow. I know you should rest your leg a bit longer but…"

"But I'm tired of being in this thing…sides we know we can't stay here. Any blood left?"

"A lot has been absorbed into the snow…why?"

"Saw it on TV once…can you make into the shape of an arrow pointing in the direction we went…you know just in case?"

"Good plan," he replied with a smile. "Okay…I'll do that while you gather up some paper stuff and then…lunch time."

"Cat…this will be a first," she muttered in sarcasm as he could only offer her a small chuckle before he disappeared from view again. As much as she hated the thought of putting more needless pressure on her injured leg she knew they had to try to make a move to find a way down the mountain and then hopefully find a logging road or hikers…anyone that might be able to help them get back to civilization.

"Lunch will be ready soon Buddy," Erin told the dog as she looked at him in concern. "All of us are leaving here tomorrow so you just gotta rest up so you can come with us. We are not leaving you behind."

About a half hour later the fire was better than both expected as Kelly placed the first bit of meat over the open flame and then stood back to watch. "You can just rest you know?"

"My ass is numb," Erin laughed in return as she leaned against the side of the plane and looked up at him thoughtfully. "Thank you for going after it…just making sure and…and doing this."

"Gotta survive right?"

"Yeah…" she agreed as her head rested on his shoulder and both watched the wild game meat crackle and sizzle over the open flame. "Smells…kinda good."

"Got any salt?" Kelly joked as he earned himself a small pinch from her free hand. "Katie…will be amazed."

"You'll have to tell her to put it on the menu for her next monthly special," Erin suggested as Kelly nodded in agreement. "Think anyone has found out about Sam's plans yet? The ones he didn't file," she added dryly.

"I'm sure someone at the airport overheard or he told someone. Even if he didn't file a flight plan he said he's a regular there. If your people call at least they'll tell them the area to start looking."

"Such a big area," she replied wistfully as her eyes stretched out over the vast landscape before them. The two of them made small talk for a while longer until Kelly told her he had to test the meat. He used a pocket knife to cut away a piece and sure enough it looked cooked all the way through. "I also have the liver for us…might taste gross but we'll need the iron and a few extras for buddy."

"You…wanna try it first?" She suggested as he took the first bite. "Taste like chicken?" Erin teased as he nodded and then shook his head.

"Like very tough beef…or something. But it's cooked and that's all that counts. Pure protein," he offered her a piece to eat. After a few more parts were cooked and they were done, Kelly carefully packed away the rest while Erin went to feed Buddy.

"How is he?" Kelly asked as he entered the wreckage a bit later.

"He ate it all," Erin told him happily. "You look tired."

"I am…chest is a bit sore," he confessed as he sat down on the floor on a pillow, his back against the seats that Buddy was on. The dog offered a small whimper but Erin tried to assure the animal to just remain in place.

"Hey…come here," he entreated as he helped her sit down next to him and the two of them pressed up against the other to conserve as much body heat as possible as nighttime started to loom.

"Stars sure are pretty out here."

"Yeah can actually see them. Lots of quiet also," Kelly remarked. "Almost miss the sound of traffic," he joked.

"It's what we're used to but…its kinda nice every so often to have just the sound of nature. Course…the sound of water might be better," she added lightly as he gently chuckled. "Just glad the wind's died down."

"Me too. You like…camping?"

"Sometimes…but this is a bit too rustic for me," Erin smiled as she looked sideways at Kelly and smiled. "Worst camping story?"

"You mean besides dropping a case of beer in my only sleeping bag and then having to deal with a hole in the tent and then if that wasn't bad enough…it started to rain," he groaned as she giggled. "We lasted about an hour and found the nearest fleabag motel and spent the night there. You?"

"This," Erin replied softly as Kelly looked at her in surprise. "Never had…anyone to go with when I was growing up."

"Making up for lost time," he told her as she nodded in agreement. But as he noticed her fight to stay awake, he knew it was time to cut the talk and get some rest. "So tomorrow…we try to make it down the mountain," Kelly started to outline their plan.

"We'll make it," Erin agreed in confidence. "We can do this." She leaned in closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder while Buddy lay asleep a few feet away. Kelly tried to hold her as close as possible and was thankful that the wind had died down.

Now he could only hope that after a restful night they'd all find a safe way down the mountain without any further peril.

A/N: *phew* so all three (aww we can't lose Buddy yet can we‼) are all okay for now hehe but wanted them to face some personal peril so they'd realize just how much they need the other. Hope you all liked this angsty update but with some bonding moments! Please do review before you go and thanks so much!