Disclaimer: not my characters – just having fun with them

(Okay, this is still a flashback within a flashback – now we switch to Hallie's point of view – thanks for the reviews – I'd love to know what you think about this one!)

Hallie Belden didn't know what to do, now.

She was angry and hurt and all alone. And she didn't think anyone would even know where to look for her.

She had changed course halfway to Crabapple Farm and had somehow made her way through the darkening forest to her favorite quiet spot: a long trench at the back of the Wheeler's game preserve.

But, the guiding moonlight that had helped her in her journey had just been extinguished by rolling storm clouds, and she had suddenly been plunged into darkness.

Why did I leave Crabapple Farm without a flashlight? She silently berated herself. I am so stupid!

The dark haired young woman shifted her position to place a little more weight on her injured foot, which had been turned painfully under her as she had been climbing down to the floor of the crevice. It didn't feel broken. She leaned on it a bit more, and felt brave enough to try a step toward the exit of the trench. But a sudden jolt of pain surged through her instep and up her leg. She instinctively grabbed at the rocky wall beside her to brace her fall.

Maybe I shouldn't do that again, she thought glumly.

Now what?

The wind began to pick up, swirling her now loose hair about her in a violent fashion, and she could almost taste the coming rain in the air.

Just great! As if this wasn't bad enough, it's gotta rain, too! Her anger was fueled once more.

She snatched strands of hair from in front of her face, determinedly pushing them back so she could see better.

But, it was no use. Her hair was too long, and the night had become too dark.

How am I going to get out of this one? She wondered.

Her mind was swirling with ideas. Had Regan tried to come after her? Had he tried to contact her at Crabapple Farm? She knew he wasn't right behind her when she'd stormed off from their argument earlier, so there was no way in her mind that he would be out looking for her now. Her hopes of being discovered began to sink.

How long would it be before anyone figured out that she wasn't at Manor House, as she had told Helen Belden she would be? In her mind, even her cousin Trixie wasn't a good enough detective to be able to get help to her this quickly.

In the distance, a clap of thunder broke out, and the after- roll brought a slow trembling to the earth beneath her feet. She didn't see the lightening that had sparked the delayed sound, but she was sure that there had been some.

And, it was heading her way.

She shuddered and tried to test her swelling foot once more. The ankle was sound, she was sure of that. It was just her foot that had suffered the pressure of the twisting motion. Of course, her entire weight had come down on it at an odd angle, and she knew that wasn't good. There were hundreds of tiny bones in the foot that could be broken or cracked. And she needed them to be strong enough to carry her out of there. Despite the current throbbing, she felt that the initial pain was beginning to fade.

Gripping the crevice walls, she stepped gingerly on her injured foot once more. It was going to work. She felt pretty confident, this time. So, she inched her way forward, feeling in the dark against the muddy cliffs around her. When her instep protested with jarring pain again, she gritted her teeth and pressed on.

I'm not crawling out of here, like a dog, she thought angrily.

And, I'm not crawling back to Bill Regan to apologize, either!

Hot tears of humiliation began streaming down her dusty face at the thought of what she'd said to the Wheeler's groom earlier that evening. She'd never felt more vulnerable, and it had appeared to her that he didn't want to hear what she had to say. It had wounded her deeply.

I'm not a stupid kid, she continued to rant to herself, I know people would have a hard time with us being together. But, he acted like he didn't even want to try to make something work.

She thought of the way he'd stood up for her honor against Mike Colby, the Cryobank representative that had come to visit Dan in the hospital.

She couldn't believe Regan wasn't willing to stand and fight for her now.

I thought…after today… when he almost…I thought he actually….

Oh, Hallie, don't be an idiot!

She silently chastised herself as she groped along.

Forget what you thought. He doesn't see you that way, and he never will.

She was sobbing with embarrassment, frustration, and pain by the time she made her way up to the forest area above the trench. Another roll of thunder could be heard in the distance.

And that was when she heard her name being called out.

Her heart seized up, and she felt her breath catch. It had sounded like Dan's voice.

"Hallie!"

She heard it again, only louder this time.

It was Regan.

In the darkness, she could hear the pounding of a horse's hooves growing nearer and nearer.

"Hallie? Are you out here?"

The man's fear for her safety was evident in the cracking of his voice as he called out her name repeatedly. Hallie was astonished.

I'm dreaming. He's not actually coming to find me. Or, is he?

But, the stabbing pain in the middle of her foot reminded her that she was, indeed, wide awake.

"Hallie?"

"I'm here!" She called back, forgetting her hurt pride and her vow to never speak to him again.

"Hallie?"

"Here!"

"Where?"

Was that anger or fear in his voice? She couldn't be sure.

Hallie felt of the ground beneath her, grabbed the first rock she could find, and threw it toward the sound of the man on horseback crashing through the underbrush. She knew the noise would startle his mount enough to make him aware of the direction of her presence.

It had worked.

The rider stopped, and the faint light of his flashlight bobbed up and down as he focused it towards her.

"Hallie? Hallie, say something!"

"I'm here," she waved her hand into the stream of light he sent out to her.

"Thank God!" He cried out. Dropping from his horse, he quickly pulled a rain poncho from his saddle bag, ran to her side, and fell on his knees before the foot she was now nursing.

"What happened? Did you step on something?" He asked quickly, offering her the poncho to wrap up in.

"No…I…it's fine, really." She brushed his hands and the poncho away. "I just sort of twisted it. How did you…I mean…how did you find me?"

Regan looked up at her and Hallie could see his emerald eyes trembling with emotion.

"I don't know. When I finally figured I should go after you, I started to head over to Crabapple Farm, but then I got this funny feeling that you weren't there. Dan once told me you liked to come out here to the fault trench, and I guessed you would want some time alone…but."

He stood up, making Hallie once again conscious of his intimidating size.

"But, it started to get really dark, and these clouds were rolling in pretty fast. I remembered you didn't have a light, and your legs were exposed in those shorts…I mean…you weren't wearing jeans or anything to protect you from getting scraped up out here in the dark…"

"So, you were worried about me?" Hallie's question finished for him.

Lightening blazed in the distance and the ground trembled with the thunder it made.

"Absolutely," Regan's voice was deep and gravely with emotion.

Hallie's heart flipped over in her chest. He had been worried about her. She suddenly wished she hadn't muddied up her face with her silly tears.

I must look dreadful.

"Come on," he said gruffly, "let's get out of here before that lightning catches us under these trees."

He grabbed her arm and began to steer her toward his horse when Hallie involuntarily let out a cry from the pain in her foot.

She felt Regan stiffen up and turn to look at her with concern.

"Did I hurt your arm?" He asked guiltily.

"No, no, it's not that." Hallie clutched at the older man's forearm to steady herself as she shifted her weight off of her injury. "It's that twisted foot."

Before she could say another word, he scooped her up into his strong arms.

"Hold the light," He ordered, as he thrust the flashlight into her hand, carried her to his horse, and lifted her into the saddle. He swung up behind her and they were off at a rapid pace.

Hallie couldn't keep her wits about her. She was overwhelmed by how quickly this had all happened. One minute she was angry with Regan and never wanted to see him again, and the next, she was intoxicated by the feel of him pressed against her back, one arm clutching her securely around the waist.

He'd come for her.

Something about that had made all her earlier frustrations melt away.

"I'll have you back at Crabapple Farm in no time," Regan said gently at her ear.

But, Hallie didn't want to go back. She wanted to be with him. To tell him what she'd tried to tell him earlier.

She put her hand on the arm encircling her waist and tilted her head back so he could hear her.

"Please don't. I need to talk to you."

He pulled back on the reins to slow the horse and leaned close to her once more.

"Hallie, you're hurt. We need to get you home. That foot could be broken, and…"

"Bill, please!"

Hallie wasn't one to beg. And she certainly had never called him by his first name before.

She knew the strategy had gotten through to him, because he suddenly stopped the horse.

She could feel him breathing heavily behind her, his heart pounding against the upper part of her shoulders and neck. He sat very still, but he didn't speak. He was contemplating something.

"Please." She said again.

He pulled the horse around and turned them in the direction of Mr. Maypenny's.

Hallie wished she could see his face and know what he was thinking as they silently sped toward the cabin in the heart of the preserve. She knew he wanted to get her to safety and notify her aunt and uncle that she was alright, but she couldn't help but wonder if he didn't also want to hear her out. Wasn't he the least bit interested in what she had to say about this obvious attraction that was surfacing between them?

She felt his body growing tense as they neared their destination.

"We can use Mr. Maypenny's phone to let your family know you're safe," Regan said gently. "But, I'm not sure if…well…he might not be there."

Hallie understood why Regan was so nervous, now. He didn't want to be alone with her where someone could get the wrong idea about what was going on.

She felt her earlier anger begin to rise up again.

Does he think I'll try to seduce him or something?

Her insecurities about no longer being a virgin made her suddenly wish she hadn't begged him to talk. Without thinking about her wounded foot, she instantly reached forward to grab the reigns, pulled the horse to a stop, and slid down before Regan could stop her.

"Hallie, what are you doing?" He shouted.

"Look, if you don't even want to be alone with me, then that's fine. I can get back from here. Just let me keep the light." She hadn't intended her words to take on such a nasty tone, and she was glad she didn't break down and cry as she spoke.

"Are you crazy? Get back up here, and let's get going before the storm hits." He tried to reach down to catch her arm, but she wiggled clumsily away.

She limped two or three steps before she remembered why she had needed rescuing in the first place.

"Hallie! Damn it, get back here!" He swore.

She wasn't fazed by his temper. She'd seen it before.

"No! I know why you want to get rid of me so quickly. You're afraid I'll hurt your reputation. Okay, then don't take me to Maypenny's! I know where he keeps the spare key. I'll go alone and call Uncle Peter and Aunt Helen myself. Then you won't have to worry about your perfect image being polluted by someone as soiled as me..."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Regan interrupted her as he jumped down from the horse and spun her around to face him. She stood there staring at him defiantly, trying to come up with a decent response, but the way his handsome face seemed to beg her innocently to explain herself made Hallie wonder if he honestly didn't know why she was angry.

Before she could enlighten him, he did something she never expected.

As the long tentacle-like branches of a nearby weeping willow tree whipped around them in the stormy wind, he grabbed her shoulders, pulled her to him, and crashed his lips down roughly onto hers.

The emotional explosion took Hallie's breath away.

She wasn't sure if she should push him away or allow herself to melt into his powerful arms.

A sudden flash and pop of lightening forced her to do the latter. She clung to him desperately and started kissing him back.

"Hallie…" he murmured between kisses, "we…should stop…it's…it's starting to rain."

"Is it?" Hallie hadn't noticed. The electricity jolting through her body had made her completely ignorant to the pressing storm around her. There was something overwhelming about being in Regan's arms. Where Dan's body had always seemed to Hallie to be sleek and slightly muscular, Regan's was rugged, strong, and sexy. She felt oddly secure, rather than dominated by his crushing, passionate kisses.

"We…we have to…stop…and get to…safety." Regan persisted.

He reluctantly pulled his lips away and lifted her into his arms a second time. When they were up in the saddle again, he draped the poncho over her to protect her from the pelting drops that would sting them as they rode.

Hallie felt warmed by his care, despite the chilling rain.

"Are you alright?" He breathed in her ear.

It sent a thrill through her body.

"Yes. You?"

"I will be. As soon as I get you out of this storm."

She knew he meant it.

It didn't matter anymore what she thought of herself. She knew he wanted her.

She'd felt it in his kiss.

Not a lusty, reckless desire, but a deep and accepting want.

The kind that bonded people together forever.

She knew he didn't care about what had happened in her past; he wanted to be part of her future.

And she was surprised to discover that she truly, deeply, and passionately wanted him in her future, too.

…Well, that's it for now…

I've got to sort of tweak some of my earlier work-

I have that "almost" sex scene between Dan and Hallie that she mentioned, but I didn't know where that should go – so, I'm not sure if I should even use it. It doesn't answer any questions or really fit in anywhere – let me know if anyone is interested (not graphic or anything at all, so don't get your hopes up)

I also have pieces of Hallie's conversation with Regan at Maypenny's cabin (happens just after this scene)

And – I have another sort of climb through the Bob-white family tree (Katie, Candace, and Ashley have a talk – more about Dan's paternal link to Daniel)

Who wants to see what?