It wasn't long before Bret became aware of his surroundings again. He was slightly warmer than before but wanted nothing more than sleep…and he knew that he mustn't, or both he and Bart would be lost.

Bart! Bret turned his head to see his brother lying in the same position, having not moved at all. A thrill of fear filled Bret and he reached over to feel the pulse in Bart's neck. It was beating, but slowly. Bart's skin was still very cold despite the fire, and Bret realized that they were both still wearing their soaked clothes. How could the fire raise their body temperatures if they were still wet in the freezing cold? The fire was small, and much of the heat was escaping out the mouth of the cave, making it inadequate considering their condition.

Then it came to him, and he didn't know why he hadn't thought of it before. They both carried gambling clothes in their saddlebags. Quickly, Bret found his, warm and dry, right where he'd put them. The thought of undressing in the cold air was not pleasant, but it was better than the alternative of remaining wet. He stumbled in the semi-light of the small fire as he moved deeper into the cave to change. He stripped and thanked God that there was no one around to watch him fumble in the cold. He changed as fast as he could, wanting to see to Bart, but knowing that if he changed his brother's clothes while he was still wet, he'd only get Bart's dry clothes wet too.

Quickly, Bret rushed back to his brother and checked his pulse again, finding it still beating slowly. He fished Bart's clothes out of his brother's saddlebags and brought them over to him. "Bart?" he called, shaking his brother's arm. "It would be a lot easier if you were awake to help me with this."

But Bart didn't react.

Bret sighed and quickly pulled Bart upright, leaning his brother sideways against his chest while he pulled the sopping-wet sleeve of Bart's buckskin jacket off one arm. Once that was accomplished, he pulled the jacket around his brother's back and then between Bart and himself so he could pull it off his other arm. The jacket was so wet that it was heavy, and Bret dropped it on the ground inside out, to avoid getting it dirty.

With the jacket off, Bret found his brother's shirt to be even colder than his jacket was; Bart's lowered body temperature combined with the icy jacket served to insulate the cold inside.

Bret sighed and held onto his brother for a minute, his own arms still cold and aching. Soaking wet clothes and an unconscious man do not an easy task make, but Bret had needed to do this for Bart before, and as he struggled with getting his brother's wet shirt off next, he desperately hoped that this would be the last time that Bart would ever need this kind of help.

Boots were another matter entirely. He wadded up the wet shirt to lay Bart's head on and practically crawled to his brother's feet. Bret struggled with each boot but finally got them off, which allowed him to remove Bart's pants. Then he had to do everything in reverse to get the dry pants back on.

Once Bret was done changing his brother's clothes, he struggled to get up and go back to the horses, taking their bedrolls off. They were soaked too, and he threw them both to the ground, upset. The cave was still very cold despite the fire, as it had to be close to the mouth of the cave to avoid filling the small area with smoke. Sighing, Bret unrolled the bedrolls and laid out the blankets to dry.

Bart had shown no signs of consciousness through the whole clothes-changing episode and Bret knew that something had to be done fast. With no dry blankets to wrap Bart in, there was only one thing left to do. With difficulty—as he was still half-frozen himself—he put their canteens near the fire, removed the saddles from the horses and brought the animals over to where his brother lay, forcing Bart's horse to lie down. Once it cooperated, Bret shifted Bart against it before forcing his own horse to do the same. He then laid down himself in between them and wrapped his arms around his brother, keeping Bart between his horse and himself in an attempt to share body heat...if he and the horses had any to give.

Bret rested his chin on Bart's head, and could feel his brother's breath on his throat. It was reassuring. "You better wake up soon, brother Bart," he said. "It's getting boring in here."

Bret wasn't sure how long they lay like that, but he eventually began to feel warmer and hoped that Bart was feeling the same.

Unconsciousness kept its grip on Bart, but his breathing was steady. Bret often tried to wake his brother and constantly checked his pulse, finding it still weak as his body warmed up too slowly. The cave grew darker as time passed and Bret started to doze off again, but woke abruptly at the sound of a soft groan. "Bart?" he exclaimed.

Bart gave no reply, but now that he was awake, he started to shiver again.

Bret automatically tightened the grip around his brother. "Bart," he said. "Wake up, you've been out cold long enough!" Out cold, he thought. Oh, the irony.

Another groan followed and the shivering continued. Bart felt a little 'warmer' to the touch but was still, for the most part, unresponsive.

Bret sighed and simply held onto his brother, knowing that it was a good sign, at least, that Bart was conscious now, however slightly. Bret felt his stomach growl, looking for something—anything—to eat. It had been how long since their last meal? He wondered if there was any of the jerky left in his saddlebags, but he didn't want to leave Bart for even just a minute and take away whatever warmth he was providing him. His stomach would have to wait.

That's when Bret suddenly noticed that the fire was almost out. Whether he wanted to turn loose his hold on his brother or not, he was going to have to get up and find something else in the cave to burn.

Bart had made no more noises or movements, but appeared to still be conscious to some degree, as he was still shivering.

"Bart," Bret said. "Can you hear me? I have to get up to find something else for the fire."

Bart didn't react.

Bret shook him. "Bart?"

Bart moved his head slightly, but said nothing.

Bret carefully pulled away from his brother, laying him down with a sigh.

Bart feebly pulled his arms closer to his body, but didn't succeed in wrapping them around himself. He was obviously only barely conscious.

Bret saw that the absence of his body increased his brother's shivering, and he squeezed Bart's arm with a sigh, before stiffly crawling over the horses' legs to see what he could find.

Bret's own shaking increased, and it was hard to walk. Worry for his brother was what helped him get to the back of the cave, where more brush and sticks lay. He gathered a pile and brought it to the fire, dropping it on and watching the flames surge back to life. He saw the drying blankets on the other side of the fire and went to check them. They were still mostly wet, as they were trying to dry in the cold air of the cave, despite their meager fire.

With a sigh, Bret headed back to Bart and laid down between the horses, pulling his brother's shivering body against himself again.

After the manhandling, Bart unexpectedly spoke. "Bret?" he whispered.

Bret was surprised. "Yeah Bart, I'm here. Are you all right?"

But Bart said nothing else.

Despite that, Bret smiled slightly. At least his brother knew that he was there.

Bret lay there for what seemed like hours, drifting in and out of sleep but keeping a tight grip on his brother's body. Sometime during the long night, Bart's shivering lessened, and Bret was relieved that their shared body heat and that of the horses was having an effect. That didn't mean they were out of the woods, however, as he found when he shifted slightly to give the muscles in his arms some relief, and Bart's shivering increased again. The air in the cave was still freezing, as much of the heat from the fire escaped out into the storm, and he tightened the grip around Bart again, wishing that the blankets would dry, but knowing that it was probably impossible in the bitter cold.

Bret had no way of knowing how long the wind and snow would last; blizzards like this one could continue for days. With no food or water, the fuel for fire running dangerously low, and Bart's condition continuing to deteriorate, Bret knew he had to do something, but what? If only there was a way to block the cave opening, to keep the heat in! There was no real way to accomplish that except to put the horses in front of the entrance, but they were both serving a better purpose by lending them their body heat. Bret was glad that neither horse had gotten the notion in its head to stand up, as they were the only things keeping he and Bart alive.

Bret sighed again—he seemed unable to stop doing that—as he realized that there was nothing more he could do. They were out of the storm and had each other, the horses, and the excuse of a fire to try to keep warm, and that seemed to be it. If they didn't survive, it wouldn't be because he hadn't tried everything in his power to prevent it. He wasn't giving up—no indeed—he just couldn't think of anything else, and his eyelids were growing so heavy that he couldn't keep them open anymore.

As Bret fell asleep again, he desperately prayed that he wouldn't wake to find his brother dead in his arms…

TBC