"Aiden!" Antonia screamed as he lay motionless in the snow. She ran toward them as the suspect tried to stand up. He was about three feet from Aiden, struggling in the snow. The handcuffs and the deep snow made it difficult for him to get traction. She ran to Aiden quickly, keeping her eye on the suspect, who seemed dazed, his efforts thwarted by an inability to balance himself properly. She dropped to her knees beside Aiden and gently rolled him from his side to his back, she touched his face with gloved hands, but pulled them off and shoved them in her pocket. He was completely knocked out, his head having made contact with a tree slightly, she had no idea the extent of his injuries. She looked up to see that the suspect was coming in their direction. She stood in front of Aiden's prone form and grabbed the closest thing she could find, a piece of the wooden railing that had fallen by Aiden's leg. She gripped the board tightly, swinging it hard into the suspect's head as hard as she could, sending him flying into the snow unconscious. She dropped the wooden plank and turned around, crawling to Aiden's side, she called his name frantically. "Aiden, come on! Wake up!" She screamed, leaning her head down to his chest, she could feel his heart beating, his chest moving slowly up and down as he breathed. "Aiden, please." She exclaimed, feeling tears stinging her eyes as she shook him gently. "Aiden, please!" She sobbed. "Please wake up!"
Suddenly his eyes opened wide, and he let out a cough, his eyes closing tightly as he tried to catch his breath suddenly, gasping for air. "Tex." he said, his eyes wild with pain as he grabbed her arm to keep her from shaking him.
"Thank god." She whispered, watching as blood started seeping through his white shirt, glass and wood pieces covering his body. "Thank god." She whispered, leaning forward to kiss his lips, he reached his hand up and held her head in place as he kissed her, being sure not to move too much. She pulled from the kiss gently, and stared into his eyes. "What happened?" She said, noting the pain in his eyes as she sat up carefully.
"He ran at me from across the room, I had no time to prepare." He said softly, still catching his breath. He then turned his head in alarm. "Tex, where is he?" He asked, watching
"He's over here." She said, indicating the unconscious man beside them.
"Jesus, what did you do to..." He said, trying to sit up, he cried out in pain and put his head down.
"Stop moving so much." She said, trying to assess what he had hurt. "He's taking a nap." She whispered, touching his chest carefully, she started to unbutton his shirt, pulling his tie off carefully, she shoved it into her pocket.
"Not really the appropriate time or place, Tex." he grunted, pain rippling through him with each word, with each breath.
"I'm trying to see your injuries, Lothario." She whispered sarcastically.
"Not on the snow, it's too cold." He groaned in agony, trying to sit up, he fell back down and let out another shout of pain.
"Stop moving, what is wrong with you? What else hurts?" She asked, glancing again at the suspect, who was moving slightly, but was completely out of it.
"I think my collarbone is broken." He whimpered, unable to sit up, he watched as she continued to try to unbutton his shirt, the cold air was permeating his clothes. "Tex, you need to check the other suspect." he said, reaching for his weapon, he whimpered as he tried to unholster it. She pulled it from the holster for him and put it in his hand.
"I will check on him. I don't need the gun... but if this one moves, shoot him." She said, getting up. "I'll be right back with supplies." She whispered. She stood up and grabbed hold of the plank of wood she had used earlier, and quickly walked toward the cabin, carefully climbing up the steps.
Antonia swung open the door, only to find the other suspect standing at the table, bending over it as he tried to pick up the gun in the bag on the table with his mouth. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" She asked, approaching him quickly with the plank of wood, he started to move backward quickly, and lost his footing, sending himself slamming into the ground onto his back, his arms and the handcuffs pressing into him as he let out a pain filled shout. "That's what you get for being a bad boy." She said, dropping the piece of wood, she leaned down and yanked on him onto his stomach as he protested. She shoved her knee into his back, pulled Aiden's tie from her pocket, proceeded to tie his ankles together with the tie, with the remainder of the tie, she knotted it to the handcuffs so that he was completely immobile. He shouted and screamed his displeasure as he writhed on the floor. "Since you two can't behave yourselves, you lose your privileges." She said angrily as she grabbed her storm kit. She shoved the evidence from the table into the bag, grabbed the wooden plank, and made her way back outside, trying not to look at the damage to the window.
She climbed down the steps and went back to Aiden, kneeling beside him, taking a quick glance as the other suspect lay groaning in the snow. While she was in the cabin, he had finished unbuttoning his shirt, and she was finally able to see some of his injuries. She took his gun and set it on the other side of him as she worked. He had several deep cuts from the glass in his arms and chest, and some still having pieces of glass embedded. His ribs were already bruising. "Can you feel your legs?" she whispered, buttoning his shirt back up to preserve what warmth she could.
"Yes." He said, groaning as he tried to look up at her. She was rummaging through her bag and found a solar blanket. She began working quickly around him, covering the ground with the blanket, she moved toward him and assessed the situation. "I have to roll you slightly." She whispered.
"I can't move, too much pain." He whispered.
"I think your ribs are broken, though we can't rule out internal bleeding. And with a broken rib, there's always the possibility of a punctured lung." She said, assessing him carefully.
"Well aren't you all sunshine and puppy dogs?" he muttered as she glared at him.
"I don't know what that means." She said. She could see the snow beneath his head turning a deep scarlet. "I think you have a head injury as well." She said, crawling to his head, she lifted it carefully, noting that there was a deep gash on the back his head. She made a face as she noticed his eyes were on her.
"It's bad, isn't it?" he whispered.
"It's fine, just a laceration." She said, making a face at him, he laughed slightly.
"Oh, please don't make me laugh, it hurts." He whined.
"Well, this is going to hurt too." She said, leaning over him, she grabbed the blanket and pulled it closely. "Close your eyes."
"Why?" He asked.
"Close your damn eyes." She said, watching the pain in his eyes, they were ever more green as the pain increased. "Don't be difficult." She said. He closed one of his eyes, and she glared, and the other one closed. "Good boy." She said softly as she leaned over him carefully. She pulled at his hip slightly, sliding the blanket beneath him.
"Just because I'm closing my eyes, doesn't mean it hurts less." He whined as she carefully settled him on his back.
"Just be quiet." She said. "Okay, other side." She said, rolling him onto his other side, the pain was much worse, and she listened to him cry out in pain as she quickly tugged the blanket, ensuring that his entire body was off the snow and protected. "There, much better." She whispered, leaning down to drop a kiss on his lips, he opened his eyes, and smiled through the tears at her. She glanced back at the suspect and then to the cabin. "Here." She said, reaching into the bag, she pulled out a second emergency blanket. She unfolded it and covered Aiden with it. She pulled a rope and a pocket knife from her bag and stood up. "I have to deal with something." She reached over him again and grabbed the gun off the ground, placing it beside Aiden's hand, she looked to him. "Just watch my back until I get inside."
"No problem." He said, his voice hoarse from pain. She walked over to the suspect carefully, grabbing him by his shirt, she yanked at him to force him into standing.
"You fucking hit me with a board!" He shouted, his balance off as she said nothing, simply pushed him forward. "What the hell is wrong with you, bitch?" he shouted.
She moved forward and pretended to trip, sending him very close to slamming his head into the post on the porch, still saying nothing as he protested. She kicked the door of the cabin open and pushed him inside, sending him tumbling forward as she approached him quickly. "Listen to me, asshole." Antonia grunted as she grabbed the back of his neck and kicked the back of his knee, sending him to the ground. He grunted. "You've injured my partner, compromised the heat in the cabin, and yet you still think that you're the one in charge?" She asked, shoving his body into the hard wood floor. She shoved her knee into his back and began to tie his ankles together as well. She yanked hard as she secured the rope from his legs to the handcuffs, successfully hogtying him as well. "I've got news for you. If you say one more fucking word, I will shove your hogtied ass outside in the snow and let you freeze to death, do you understand?" She asked, standing up.
He grunted and struggled against the bonds. "Don't bother." She whispered, getting down close to him as she watched his head turn in her direction. "I may not actually be a boy scout… but I do know how to tie one hell of a knot." She said, glancing over at the other suspect, she watched as his head turned in her direction. "Stay comfy, boys." She said, grabbing the plank of wood, she tossed it into the fire and stomped her way outside to figure out how she was going to get her partner inside the cabin.
