It was around 11 p.m. when Aidan finally recovered consciousness. She kept her eyes closed but realized she was lying flat on her stomach in the recovery position, having been put in the position when Tony needed to go outside. She was covered with the cape and some other covering. Her ribs were protesting each breath she took it seemed and her head felt like sharp knives were slicing the skin on the left side, not to mention stabbing her in the skull.

Confused, Aidan tried to remember what happened. She remembered walking with Tony and finding the suit. She put it on when she heard Tony quietly asking her for help. Walking outside, she saw the bear and Tony to back away. When she realized the bear was going to attack the agent, she intervened and...

Aidan opened her eyes and gasped. "TONY!" she shouted, trying to get up. She succeeded in only feeling the world spin and falling flat on her face.

Tony was outside, tending the fire he had finally been able to start from some of the padding of the chairs and dry tinder under the cockpit. Hearing the woman yell, he rushed back inside the cockpit and sat next to her prone form. "Ade, you with me?" said Tony, shaking her shoulder gently. She had done this earlier in the night, but quickly passed out again before he could help her stay awake.

When she mumbled something into her arms as she stayed faced down, he smiled in relief but had to jibe her. "Aidan, 'grumblegus bearcat to the moon' isn't an answer. C'mon, turn over and open your eyes again."

She complied and saw Tony's face come into focus, but then blur again. "Hey Tony, I'm here... wherever here is..."

Tony frowned slightly, hoping she didn't have amnesia from the blow she took. "What do you remember? And try from the beginning," he said.

"Well, Mom and Dad conceived me, and I was born..." she started, only to see Tony's eyes widen slightly in worry. She chuckled softly, wincing at the pain in her head, and he rolled his eyes. "All right, short version: Airport ... gassed by bad guys, crash, first aid for Tony... uh... hike to plane with nasty surprise, find suit, bear attack and ... well, here I am."

Tony smiled. "Ten for 10, as Mr. H'd say."

"Not quite Tony, but OK. Can you fill in the blanks now?"

"Yeah, as far as after, ya passed out I hadta carry ya back here. It was pouring down buckets during the entire trip back, but it stopped about a half an hour ago," he said, and noticed Aidan was looking at the sky, confused that it was dark. He continued. "Since I'm guessin' you're gonna ask, ya've been unconscious for the most part for about three hours. Listen, how's the head?"

Aidan realized this was more than just an assessment of her injuries. He was hoping she'd be able to fly. "Hurts, and I'm seeing either blurry or triple images at times," she said, blinking off a bout of dizziness. "There's no way I can fly us both of us out of here safely. And, I don't think I should try it even solo, unless..."

"No way, 'cause I ain't gonna let ya. Great, that means ya've probably got a concussion, courtesy of that bear..." said Tony, and she frowned. "Now what? Please don't tell me you're gonna be sick again."

Aidan noticed Tony now was sporting a bandage tinged with red on his leg. "Uh, no... but when did you get that? Wasn't from the bear was it?"

"Nah, and I don't think he'll come back. Between your punch and my shooting the gun, he shouldn't come back unless he wants to be dinner," said Tony wryly. "Got the cut searching for my weapon during the fight, but didn't realize it until I got you back here. I think the bleedin's stopped, so I don't think it was too deep."

Aidan smiled but started coughing, this time the rattling really making an appearance. When it subsided, she winced in pain and Tony's frown deepened. "Ade, now I'm really starting to hate that cough," he said grimly. "I doubt it's just allergies now. How are the ribs?"

"Sore, if anything they're rebruised," she said, worried herself.

Tony frowned, not quite believing her. "I know ya ain't gonna like this, but I've gotta check your ribs to see if they're cracked or broken," he said. Despite seeing the glare in her eyes at what that would entail he continued. "Hey, remember I'm a married man. I ain't doin' nothin' that'd make the missus bash me over the head with a frying pan if she found out."

Aidan smiled wryly. "Don't worry, Rhonda won't have to if you do," she said. Aidan and Rhonda had become good friends over the course of years, long before the suit, and didn't want something like this to mess it up.

Tony rolled his eyes and gently checked her ribs. Finding nothing wrong, he smiled and helped her sit up. "Good, nothin's broken. Now, guess you know the next part?"

"Yeah, try to stay awake in this freezing weather," she said, coughing again and started to shake slightly. "Did you manage to bring my street clothes? For all its powers, the suit isn't all that warm."

"Just whatever you put in your purse," he said. "I only added food and first-aid stuff. Your jeans were all that was in it besides the other stuff. Didn't have time to stuff your shirt in there. Good thing you decided to be stubborn and leave your jacket here earlier."

"I'll take it over just the jammies," said Aidan, grabbing her purse and putting on the clothes. Despite the extra clothing, she was still freezing and shivered.

Tony, seeing her reaction, put his arms around her and tried to warm her up again. He was having problems with the cold air himself, and knew that if they weren't found in the next few hours, things were going to start getting deadly for the two.

--------------------------------------------------

"Aidan?"

"Tony?"

"Villacana? Miss Hinkley?"

Ralph, Pam and the other searchers were walking through the forest, continuing to search for the young team, hoping it wasn't too late. Pam and Ralph were using flashlights along with everyone else. The group also had a heat sensor, but would use it only if they thought they heard someone call out for help. So far, the only sounds had been forest animals.

Within about an hour, someone found the back part of the aircraft. The group rummaged inside, but didn't find Aidan or Tony. "Nothing, just debris," said one of the agents sadly as they looked for any sign of the passengers.

"Wait, I found footprints, but there are also bear tracks as well," said another searcher, who was also a forest ranger. "We'd better get a move on if we're going to find them before that bear does."

The couple frowned but continued with the group as they started to follow the tracks. About halfway there, they stumbled across the remains of the pilot. Despite not seeing Aidan or Tony, none of the rescuers had an easy time with the discovery. It was hardest for Ralph and Pam. "Hun, I'm starting to really hope your cold feeling was just the thunderstorm brewing," said Pam softly.

"So am I Pam," said Ralph as he and the others paid brief respects to the pilot as someone covered up the remains with a yellow blanket tarp for recovery later. Every one knew at that moment that they were on the right track, but hoped that at the end there weren't two more bodies to discover...

------------------------------------

"...Ralph, why did Mom and Dad die?" said a soft, almost child-like voice.

Tony shook out of his light doze when he heard Aidan ask the strange question. "Ade, what did you just say?" he asked, confused.

"Why did Mom and Dad die Ralph and why does my head hurt?" she asked softly again, not realizing it was Tony, before starting to cough again.

The agent frowned, realizing Aidan was now slightly feverish and delirious. "Wake up Ade, you're not quite here," he said gently. "I'm not..."

"Damn it Ralph, I've want to know what happened and why I can't remember anything just before I hit my head," she said starting to argue with Tony. "Why won't you tell me?"

"Aidan, you're in the middle of the forest, and a bear hit ya in the head. I need ya to wake up," said Tony arguing with her. "All I know is your mom and dad died in a car crash. Ya've been in a plane crash, but they aren't the same..."

For some reason, Tony's words made Aidan snap back into full consciousness. She looked at Tony in confusion at his comments about the plane. "Yes, I know I've been in a plane crash, and a bear fight too. All I need is a 'coonskin cap and I could play Davy Crockett," she snapped, only to cough again. "Can you also quit hugging me?..."

Seeing her eyes droop and her start to relax a little too much, Tony pinched her. When Aidan opened her eyes and gave him a dirty look, Tony shrugged in apology and held her tighter, but not enough where she'd panic and strike. Even in her condition, with her in the suit, she could still seriously hurt him. "Aidan, listen ya need to stay awake. I think you're going into shock and that's why I'm still huggin' ya," he said calmly. "You were rambling about your parents and Mr. H, and not in the good way. It was about a wreck..."

"Tony, all I know is my parents died in the wreck," she said then paused. "What have I been saying about Ralph?"

"Well, you've been arguing with 'Mr. H' for ya not being able to remember something about your parents'

death after hitting your head," he said softly, not wanting to mince words. When she looked away, Tony knew she wished she didn't say anything, at least not this way. "Ade..."

"Why am I saying it? Don't know why here, but since you now know, I honestly don't remember a lot of what happened that night," said Aidan. "An officer came by and told Ralph what happened. Ralph told me and... I hit my head on the desk."

"Ouch, had to hurt," he said, grimacing.

"I don't know, the reason I hit my head was because I had already fainted and was falling. Woke up in the hospital a few hours later, but parts of that night are... vague, almost like a pastel that's been smeared. Other parts I don't remember at all," she said.

"Gee, Ade, I didn't..."

"You wouldn't, and neither Ralph nor Pam would've told you if you had asked. Because of what happened that night, they let me tell people stories about my past and such. You only know what I've told you," she said looking at the sky as the clouds started to clear and the stars started to peek through. "And now, I think they're feeling that history's repeating itself, 'cept I'm suffering unlike my parents. Maybe that's why Ralph hasn't told me everything about that night."

Tony, realizing she was starting to give up, decided to change the subject. "Listen Ade, why don't you ask him when you get home? I don't want to hear any of the sad stories about your parents," he said, trying to get her to think. "Why don't you tell me a happy one? I mean, for starters, I've always wondered where you lived before you started living with Mr. and Mrs. H. Wasn't in L.A. or I'd seen you more, I think."

Aidan smiled, realizing that she could ask him questions too at this rate. "I was born in New Mexico. Lived there until I was two before Dad moved the three of us to Wyoming..."

"Where in Wyoming? Never've been there..."

"I was going to tell you that, but Casper. Great town... has a restaurant that makes great huevos rancheros. Dad and I used to go there once a week for breakfast, just the two of us..." she said with a chuckle, coughing slightly afterward. "One of the last few times we also went to Fort Casper afterward to tour the fort. Mom'd take me out for lunch on the weekends for a girl's day out, when we'd go shopping for clothes or such..."

Seeing the skies clear finish clearing, she paused and smiled. "Lookit stars. Haven't seen them in a long time. You know, there's Orion... you can even see the animals he's hunting."

"Waitasec, looks like a buncha stars in a line squished a rectangle. Howd'ya know it's a person and he's huntin'?"

"Look at Bellatrix, it's the star that forms his right shoulder above the belt... or the three stars."

"Ya mean the bright star?"

"No, that's Betelgeuse on the left. Now, look up from Bellatrix, there's two stars that are lined up just above them... that's his arm getting ready to strike. Look, there's even Taurus and Lepus..."

Tony, a little confused at her astrology talk, decided to switch subjects back to her parents. "So, did you and your parents look at stars?"

"Yeah, mostly 'cause you could see more than you could catch in Wyoming on a clear night. Mom and Dad taught me a lot about astronomy... what about you and your parents?" she asked, realizing that she was doing too much talking.

"My old man never really talked to me and mom died not too long after I was born..."

"I'm sorry Tony," said Aidan softly, not realizing she had hit a nerve.

"No worries Aidan. Like you, I tend to keep some of my past to myself. I think your godfather's the only other one who knows all about my old man. In fact, and you'd better not tell him this, but at times, I see Mr. H as sorta a dad to me, given my real dad was more of a deadbeat, to be nice."

"Sure, Tony," said Aidan quietly. "So, you still want to share stories, if nothing else, about when Ralph was actually a teacher at Whitney?"

"Yeah Ade, I do... all night for once too," he said gently.

Aidan, understanding a little bit also why he wanted hear about her past, began telling stories about Fort Casper, Independence Rock, and other places and things. When she started to fade out, Tony'd nudge her to keep her talking. Even he was having problems staying totally conscious in these temperatures, but with Aidan being knocked unconscious twice on top of recovering from other injuries, he knew things were starting to go downhill really fast for her.

He in turn would talk about his life, including stories about Ralph and Pam that even Aidan didn't know. The two were tired, exhausted and other things but at that moment, they knew they needed keep each other up or they wouldn't survive the morning.