Endurance Chapter 8

Disclaimer: These characters and everything in the following chapter, besides the storyline, belong to Eoin Colfer.

A/N: Sorry. Another late update. Not as late as last time. Enjoy.

Trouble and Holly. The scene could almost be classified as romantic, if it wasn't for the death threats Holly had been cheerfully muttering under her breath for the entire duration of the journey.

The group had been walking for about four hours, covering approximately seven miles. The trek was hard going, even for Trouble, who – although fully trained, was carrying double the weight of Robert and Sapphire. It wasn't that Holly was heavy, but she refused to keep still, making it twice as awkward to carry her, than the inanimate rucksack. He kept his discomfort to himself, however, as the teams morale was low enough without his complaints to add to it.

Holly, on the other hand, wasn't too bothered about morale, which was most unlike her, but you could almost forgive her for this, as she'd been through rather a lot.

"Put me down!" She howled, her voice muffled by Trouble's shoulder, "Trouble!!! TROUBLE!!! Listen to me!"

Trouble ignored her. He should've felt guilty, but, truth be told, he felt like dropping her into the nearest shrub. He knew she was having a hard time, and her pride made it impossible to accept help from anyone, and she was suffering with her leg. But if she'd just open up to them, or just tell him how she felt, then things might be a little less tense. As it was, her whining wasn't helping. They were already behind schedule, and there wasn't more than an hour of daylight left.

"Please!! Trouble, please put me down!"

Pleading wasn't Holly's style and she sounded so pathetic, that Trouble had to comply. He set her down, so as not to jolt her leg.

Robert and Sapphire came to a halt, standing awkwardly, a safe distance from Holly and Trouble, not wanting to intrude, as they were unsure of how to deal with Holly's moods.

Trouble, however, was used to Holly's outbursts; her precarious temper had a reputation all of its own. "Did you want something?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Holly stood stiffly; balancing all her weight on her left foot, the right one barely touched the ground. Her breathing was heavy, not through exercise, as, much to her annoyance, she hadn't done any, but through effort and pain. "How...much…further?" She asked, between breaths.

Trouble looked at Robert, who in turn, looked at the map. "There's about three miles until the halfway marker."

"Three miles." Trouble confirmed to Holly, his voice devoid of any emotion.

She nodded, swaying ever so slightly, "Thank you."

Trouble automatically reached out, steadying her. There was no point asking her if she was alright, he'd only receive the customary "I'm fine!" in response. No, instead he examined his moonometer. Not much daylight left. Even if Holly was fine, which he doubted, they weren't going to get any fast once night fell.

"Okay, if it's alright with everyone, then we'll camp here tonight." No one objected; they were all privately glad of a rest. "Right," Trouble paused, surveying their environment. "Sapphire, could you and Robert pitch the tents?"

They nodded, dumbly. Tent duty was simple enough. It was all rather novelty to Sapphire, sleeping in tents and cooking around a campfire, like a child's game, not reality.

"And," said Holly, as the others set about their assigned chores, "What about me?" she asked Trouble, raising an eyebrow.

"You? Well you can just sit there looking pretty, can't you Holly?" And with that, he disappeared to lay the fire and prepare something to eat.

Holly stared after him, a bemused expression displayed upon her elfin features. What on earth was he talking about? She wasn't certain whether his words were compliments or insults. Insults probably. Although hitting a man when he's down, didn't seem to be Trouble's style. Rather, wait till the man recovers, then the impact's all the greater.

Night had fallen, and Team Four were recuperating around their camp fire, feeling full and exhausted but comfortable enough. The air was still, but cool, although, if it wasn't for the heat that the fire was releasing, it would've been almost cold. Trouble was recalling some of his retrieval missions for the entertainment of the others.

Holly listened intently; the things he'd been through were amazing! Almost unbelievable. Stories such as his, made her glad she was a Reconnaissance officer, not Retrieval.

Robert yawned, the combination of the exercise and the fresh air had worn him out, "All the walking is catching up with me, I'm going to bed, if no one minds." He got to his feet, rubbing his hands together to get the circulation going.

Trouble shook his head, Robert and Sapphire were doing really well, seeing as they weren't fully trained operatives like Holly and himself, it was no wonder they were tired. "Go ahead, make sure you get plenty of rest, tomorrow's going to be a long day."

Sapphire watched him leave, waiting a minute or two before she stood up. There was no way she intended to play gooseberry to Holly and Trouble. She didn't care what they said; they were clearly besotted with each other. She feigned a yawn, to make her exhaustion all the more convincing, "Me too, goodnight guys." And with that, she was gone, slipping inside her tent and leaving the LEP officers in peace.

"Was it something I said?" Holly remarked, referring to the pairs rapid disappearance.

Trouble laughed, "Probably! Do want a drink or something Holly?" He held up a bottle of mineral water, but she shook her head.

"No thanks."

He sat beside her, and they stared silently into the heart of the fire. The wind had increased, rustling the leaves in the treetop canopy high above them, sending leaves spiralling down to earth.

The atmosphere between the two elves was pleasant enough, even though they weren't making conversation, they seemed to appreciate each others company.

Eventually, exhaustion became too much for Holly, and after she'd yawned consecutively four times, Trouble suggested that perhaps getting some sleep wasn't a bad idea. He offered Holly his hand, helping her to her feet.

Holly nodded in thanks, steadying herself. Trouble rummaged through a rucksack, looking for another layer of protective clothing, he had a feeling it was going to be a cold night. Holly tried to join him, but her feet didn't seem to responding to the signals from her brain. She staggered, scuffing the toes of her walking boots in the dirt. Her eyes closed for a brief second, and she was falling…

"Holly!" Trouble reached out, letting her fall into his arms. She was limp with exhaustion, at least, he hoped it was exhaustion. He sprinkled a few drops of water from the bottle onto her forehead. "Holly!"

Her eyes flickered, vision blurred. "Tr-Trouble?"

"I'm here." He reassured her, "I've got you."

Great, Holly thought, now he's going to think I'm even more useless. However, it appeared this wasn't the case. "Holly, when was the last time you had something to eat?" He'd been too busy checking everyone had made it this far, before even considering whether they'd had enough nourishment.

"I'm…fine. Just…a bit…tired." She yawned.

Trouble was relieved, "Okay, are you sure you're going to be alright?" He helped her in the direction of her and Sapphire's tent.

Holly felt her face flush crimson, and silently hoped it was too dark for Trouble to notice. She'd forgotten that the previous night she'd fallen asleep in his arms. A rather pleasant experience, but one she did not care to repeat. Well, not yet, anyway. "Yes, I'll be fine. Unless I decide to go sleepwalking, then I might have a few problems!" She smirked, eyes sparkling in the firelight.

Trouble smiled, pulling back the tent flap, "More than a few!"

"And Trouble," Holly paused before entering the tent, lowering her voice so as not to wake Sapphire. "Thankyou."

Thanks for saving her life, thanks for carrying her all this way, thanks for caring.

"For everything." She could've elaborated, but it wasn't necessary, Trouble knew what she meant. She kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"Maybe I was wrong about you."

A/N: Cruel I know.