Antonia managed to cover the window quite well with the tarp, settling the piles of wood against the tarp to keep the wind from blowing inside. Most of the rest of the daylight hours were spent hanging the tarp and transporting wood. She barely said a word to anyone, but for occasionally allowing the two suspects some sips of water, or a bite of the food that she had in her pack. The darkness was quickly sneaking up on them, and soon the only light they'd have would be from the fire. She walked to the fire and tossed a couple more logs onto the waiting embers, watching as the flames grew higher for a moment, the heat increasing slightly. She stood staring at the flames, mesmerized for a moment.
"Tex, you should sit down." Aiden said, pulling her attention from the fire, she looked to the agent in his resting place. "You look exhausted."
"The snow has finally stopped." She said softly, glancing over at the two suspects as they sit awkwardly against the far wall, their eyes closed as they slept. "I hope it doesn't start up again." She paced in front of the fire, the darkness starting to pull her into it as her mind raced. "I hope Deuce gets my message." She whispered, stopping to stare at the fire.
"Tex?" Aiden said, his voice raised slightly, hoping it would jar her into reality. She turned her head and looked down at him. "Sit with me, please?" He asked.
She scrunched her face slightly, kneeling beside him, she touched his face with her hand. "You feel cool to the touch." She whispered. She watched his eyes as he furrowed his brow. She sighed. "Maybe you need more Tylenol. Did you want to try eating a little more?" She asked, referring to the power bar that she had given him earlier to keep his strength up. "Your breathing sounds better." She said, obviously ignoring his concern for her.
"Stop worrying about me." He said, swatting her hand with his good arm, she glared at him. "I'm worried about you."
"There's nothing to worry about." She said, "I can take care of myself. I'm a big girl, and I've made it through life this far. I don't need someone to tell me what to do." She said. She started to stand up, and he grabbed at her sleeve, stopping her motion. She turned to him. "What now?" She asked, a bit sharply, and he released her sleeve, pulling his hand back to his chest.
He said nothing, just closed his eyes, and took a slow, deep breath. He heard her sigh some shifting near him, and then heard her feet on the ground as she walked quickly around the table, and out of the cabin. Aiden listened, and all he heard was the crackling of the fire. He held his breath and attempted to roll, the pain in his collarbone was causing white flashes of pain in his field of vision. He grunted slightly as he pushed himself onto his good shoulder, and attempted to pull himself onto his knees. When he made it to his knees, he listened and heard nothing, his head spinning from the sudden movement. He steadied himself on the nearby chair, feeling his ribs throbbing. The suspects were snoring in their corner, but Antonia was nowhere in sight. He then slowly lifted himself to his feet. His legs felt wobbly, but he felt more sure-footed than he had earlier, and the pain was slightly less, as he had rested a considerable amount during the day.
Aiden shuffled toward the door of the cabin. He could feel the cold wind that seeped through the tarp on the window, and shivered at its uninvited entrance. He was just about to reach for the door handle, when the door swung open unceremoniously as Antonia entered. Upon seeing Aiden standing by it, she let out a yelp, nearly hitting him with the door. "Aiden!" She exclaimed suddenly, her heart pounding in her chest as she gripped the door tightly. "You scared the crap out of me! What are you doing? You should be lying down, why are you up?"
"I was coming to look for you." He said, watching as she stood awkwardly, her arms crossed, she kept her distance. "I wanted to check on you." He reached for her, and she took a step back. He tilted his head in confusion, watching as she scowled at him. "Why do you become a completely different person at night?" He asked honestly, turning from her.
"Excuse me?" She asked, watching as he hobbled around her, she followed him with her eyes as he reached for the door handle, grasping it tightly in his grip.
"Nothing." He said, shaking his head.
She reached out and held the door closed, knowing that he wouldn't be able to open it with her against it. "No, explain to me what you mean." She said angrily.
"During the day, you're actually pretty charming and approachable, tender and kind. But at night you build a wall of sarcasm and anger, and spend every moment making that wall taller and stronger. You get mean and snippy. You have a lot of anger, Antonia. It's like you're a completely different person. I don't like it." He said as he tugged at the door. She pulled her hand back, and allowed him to swing it open. The cold air from outside invaded their space.
"You don't even know who I am." She said with a growl.
"That doesn't mean that I don't want to know who you are." He said, as he started to walk out onto the porch.
"Where are you going?" She asked, a tinge of genuine concern in her voice.
"I need some air." He said, stepping out onto the porch, he let the door swing closed behind him, causing her to jump at the abrupt sound of it closing.
Ace drove the SUV slowly over newly plowed road, the speed limit was nearly three times the speed he was able to go, especially considering that he had a trailer on the back. He could feel the anxiety from his front passenger as it permeated the air around them. "You okay, Booth?"
"I'm fine, just keeping my eyes on the road." He said, watching as they inched along their way. "How far away is this crime scene?"
"I told you, it's way outside the city past Arlington, one of those undeveloped subdivisions." We probably have another ten minutes to go before we get to the entrance road to the subdivision. I have no idea if it'll be passable or not. And why are you watching the road? I'm driving." Ace teased.
"Dad always watches the road." Parker said from the back seat. "You should have been there when he was teaching me how to drive."
Booth gave his son a playful glare, and shook his head. "Don't you sell me out, kid."
"I'm just saying that you're very observant." Parker shrugged. "And a little bossy."
"Just be glad that I didn't let Bones teach you how to drive." He said, watching Ace glance to him. "She is way too analytical. Grace came home crying on her first outing with Bones, because she didn't parallel park the car at a perfect angle, and Bones made her do a mathematical calculation on when was the proper time to turn the wheel. Ant on the other hand, that girl mastered driving on her first outing."
"Yet she's the one that we're out here looking for." Parker teased.
"What she lacks in instincts, she makes up for in squinty math and survival skills." Booth laughed. "She's her mother's clone."
"Yeah, well, she has your propensity for getting into sticky situations." Ace laughed. "Let's just hope that Aiden and Ant don't kill one another before help gets there. You can cut the tension between those two with a knife."
Antonia stood in the same place for what seemed like minutes, but was most likely just moments. Her face was red with anger as she let Aiden's word permeate her being. She wasn't sure whether she wanted to scream or cry, and she wasn't sure why. Nobody had ever spoken to her like that, or called her out like that. Most people who had an issue with her would just talk about her behind her back, and avoid her. Never had anyone stood up for themselves when her defensive walls went up, and she didn't know what to do. She started to pace slightly, the fire flickering in the fireplace, she walked over to it and tossed another log on the fire, walked past the suspects to see if they were still sleeping, and then stepped over to the door. She swung it open and walked out into the cold, her thoughts finally settled on what she wanted to say, but then disappeared as soon as the icy air hit her face.
She stepped out onto the porch, and closed the door behind her, watching as his shadow leaned against the post on the porch awkwardly, his head looking up to the sky as the bright moon illuminated the powdery snow around them. The trees cast eerie shadows across the snow, and the treetops allowed for a fairly open view of the stars above. He made no movement when she stepped out onto the porch, no indication that he heard her or wanted to talk to her, so she stepped forward and kept her distance, kicking snow from the porch step as she sat down.
She looked up at the stars and swallowed hard as she felt tears start to well up in her eyes. "When I was three years old, my grandfather got me a telescope." She said softly, noting that he didn't move, or react, just stood still. "He told me that that Ursa Major, and Ursa Minor were the names of the big dipper and little dipper. Big bear, little bear." She said softly. "He explained that the when my mom was younger, she said that the little bear was her, and the big bear… was him, keeping her safe." She looked up at Aiden, and he was still looking somewhere else. "I liked the way that it sounded, to have someone to keep you safe." She whispered. "Of course, this is all before my father…" She stopped herself, started to stand up. "I can't… I'm sorry, I can't talk about this." She whispered as she started to walk back toward the door.
"Before your father what?" He asked, turning his head, he held tightly to the porch post and turned himself.
"Before he came back from the dead." She said, but instead of stepping over to the door, she took a step toward him. She looked into his eyes and watched him for a moment, waiting for the reaction that she expected, but never received. "Aiden, I keep my life in a series of very small, very neatly packaged boxes." She said softly, watching his eyes stayed on hers. "They are kept hidden away here." She said, touching her head. "And here." She said, touching her chest. "I have never been in a serious relationship because somewhere between here, and here…" She said, indicating her head and her heart. "Something always seems to go wrong. Someone opens the wrong package, someone pushes too hard, or someone says the wrong thing. So instead of relying on other people, I just rely on myself. I've become a survivalist in the physical sense, as well as a psychological sense." He opened his mouth to say something, and she reached up and touched his lips with her fingers. "I know that it's not the way that I should live my life. I've seen the way that my parents look at one another, they way they tease and love one another. I've been seeing it for a very long time, and in one sense… in my heart, I crave that love. I crave that attention and that commitment… But up here?" She said, pointing at her head. "Up here, my brain says it's impossible to have that, because I'm not my mother, and I'm not my father. I am just a broken child whose father was dead until he wasn't, whose life was constantly pushed and pulled into one emotional direction to the next, and as everything fell into place around her, she was pushed into a puzzle that she didn't quite fit into."
There was a long pause as she pulled her finger from his lips, his eyes were looking into hers as the moonlight sparkled in the intensity of her gaze. He watched her for a moment, the cold air puffing from his lips as he let her words permeate his heart. "Did you ever think that the reason you didn't fit into that puzzle… is because you're the beginning of an entirely new puzzle altogether?" he whispered.
He watched as a tear escaped down her cheek, and reached out to touch it with his fingertip. "I can't help who I am, Aiden. I'm going to push away, I'm going to fight it, but it's not because I don't want someone to be here for me. It's because I feel like I've been looking after myself for so long, that nobody is going to want to deal with the mess that I am." She sniffled.
"Well, you certainly are a mess." He said, watching her eyes widen before they narrowed. He let out a slight laugh, wincing as he watched her scowl turn to a playful smile.
"I should jab you in the ribs for that." She said,
"Oh, please don't." He mumbled, running his finger over her cheek tenderly, he could feel a tear escaping his eye as he watched her in the moonlight. "You are a beautiful person." He whispered. "Up here." He said, running his finger over her temple. "And down here." He said, touching the hand she held on her chest. "And don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise."
"What about right here?" She whispered, touching her lips with her fingertip.
A smile rose onto his lips as he reached up and took her hand. "Oh, you are definitely beautiful there, Antonia." He whispered, letting her name flutter off his tongue. He leaned down just slightly, feeling a bit of pressure on his collarbone, he felt her stand taller to accommodate him, pressing his lips to hers gently, his hand reached out for the post. She lifted her hands to his neck, gently tugging him closer to deepen the kiss, but cognizant of his injuries. He held onto the post with his good arm as if it were the only thing keeping him upright, and she pulled from the kiss reluctantly. She watched him try to catch his breath, his eyes now sparkling in the moonlight, though they seemed to dull quickly.
"Are you okay?" She whispered.
"I'm okay." He said, feeling a sharp pain in his chest. "I think I'm okay."
"Aiden?" She said, watching him as his face twisted slightly in pain.
"I think I need to lie down." He said, wincing.
"Aiden, look at me. Can you breathe deeply?" She whispered. "Where is the pain?"
"Chest." He said, as he started to cough a little. With each inhale, the cold air caused him to cough a little more, and the pain was becoming worse.
"Let's get you inside out of the cold." She said, trying to get him to let go of the post. "Aiden, you have to let go of the porch."
He continued a light coughing as he finally let go of the post, allowing Antonia to take the brunt of his weight. She kicked the door open and practically dragged him inside. They made it to the mattress on the floor, and she helped him to his knees as he continued to try to catch his breath. "Aiden." She whispered, feeling his body becoming heavier as he gasped for air. "Lie down." She said, pulling his good arm, she carefully pulled him to his back as he gasped, repeatedly telling him to breathe as deeply as he could. She reached into her bag with one hand as she unbuttoned his shirt with the other, watching as he struggled against her for air. "It's okay, I've got you." She whispered, "I've got you, just take it easy." She said as she pulled a needle from her bag. She watched as he struggled, his lips began to turn blueish as he fought for breath, obviously in respiratory distress. She quickly swiped an alcohol pad across where the needle needed to go. "Saint Anthony, Saint Anthony, please come around… something's lost and must be found." She whispered as she prepared the needle. "Saint Anthony, Saint Anthony, please come around… something's lost and must be found." She whispered as she lifted the needle to the proper place. "I'm sorry, Aiden." She whispered, as she shoved the needle directly into his chest at the appropriate location. His eyes had widened when he saw the needle coming down, but as soon as it went in, he felt the pressure in his lungs release as a burst of air expelled from his chest.