She ran her fingers up the back of his neck and into his hair as his mouth urged hers on, his tongue slipping tantalizing in and out and driving her a little crazy with need.
But this time it was Dean who pulled away. "Dani... we better stop."
She took a deep recovery breath before she spoke. "Oh, yeah... I guess..."
He smiled and tilted her chin up close to his. "Honey, your legs are quavering... and as much as I'd like to take credit for that, I'm thinkin' it's more likely due to exhaustion." He pressed his forehead to hers and sighed. "I really think we need to take a break."
She moved so that her head was resting on his shoulder and let out a sigh of her own. "I guess you're probably right..." She trailed off as she felt his body tense. "What?"
He turned away from her slightly and seemed to be listening. "You hear that?"
She strained to hear anything out of the ordinary. At first she couldn't figure out what he was talking about, but then she heard it. "Is that water? Like a river?"
"Yeah, I think so. And we're heading right for it."
Suddenly excited, they both managed to overcome their tiredness and moved in the direction of the sound. After about 10 minutes, they found themselves at the edge of a large rushing river. Dean bent down to grab some of the stoney sand on the bank.
"Is this the Rio Grande?"
Dani crouched beside him, and then thought better of it when her legs began to tremble and simply sat down. "Yeah, I think it is."
"Wicked. I've driven all over this country, but this is the closest I've been to the Rio Grande."
As if on cue, the sky seemed to brighten a little bit, and Dani could clearly see the smile lingering on Dean's face. She found herself smiling as well. "It is pretty beautiful. And there's something else." He turned to her in question, and she continued. "Judging by the mountains around us, we were moving in the right direction." She tried to push herself back up, but found her legs were being somewhat uncooperative. Dean reached down and gave her a pull up, but she practically fell into him. He happily pulled her into his side, then wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she felt a moment of extreme contentedness despite what she had to say next.
"The problem is, I think we need to get to the other side."
Dean looked at the rushing water before them and snorted. "Excellent. And me without my rubber dinghy."
Dani laughed. "Me either. But maybe we can find a place where it narrows and try to wade across? There are any number of shallows along it... we just need to find one."
"Maybe we should just take a break now and get some sleep. Maybe just an hour or so."
The light grew stronger with every moment and Dean could see the determination returning to Dani's face. He knew what her next words would be before she spoke them.
"I think we should keep going, Dean... At least until we reach the other side? There will be settlements over there, I'm certain." She looked east across the river. "There are probably some just out of sight as it is..." She looked up at him hopefully. "I mean, we've come so far already."
He shook his head and squeezed her closer again. "When we finally see my brother, you are NOT telling him about how I can't say 'No' to you, alright?" He smirked before he kissed her hair and she laughed.
"Deal."
They made their way down to the edge of the river and for a change, they actually had some good luck and found a narrowing spot in about 15 minutes.
"What do you think? This looks not too bad."
Dani yawned and nodded. "Yeah, looks like there are a few sandbars. We'll just have to be careful in between. The current can surprise you." She decided not to go into the details of all the horror stories she'd heard as a child of people misjudging the currents and getting swept away. They were too close to getting out of this mess for her to think negatively. And plus, it really did look like a good place to cross.
Dean rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "Alright, let's do this. I'll go first and you come behind. Maybe you should hold on to my waist just in case."
In another brazen moment that surprised even her, Dani wrapped her arms around Dean from behind and tiredly put her head on his shoulder. "Like this?" Even just resting here like this was a huge relief. She couldn't remember ever being this weary- even during the neverending workload at Med school.
He laughed softly and leaned back into her. "Not if you actually want to get across right now."
She took a step back and put her hands to his sides. "OK, let's do this."
They stepped into the quickly flowing river and the instant shock of the cold water made them both gasp. Dean put a hand on one of hers at his waist. "Wow. I'm definitely awake now."
Dani felt a moments concern for his leg wound but figured the ice water would probably do him some good in the long run. The current was tugging so hard at their shins, it would probably give the injury a nice cleaning out, in fact. And by the time they had reached the halfway point, her own legs were already beginning to feel numb from the knees down. If he'd been having any residual pain, she was sure he wasn't feeling anything now.
The morning light was almost fullblown now, and Dean was doing a good job of judging where they should step, and despite the strong pull of the current at their legs, Dani felt confident behind his lead. She took a moment to look past his shoulder and was happy to see that they were almost to the other side. "Wow, I'm amazed. We've almost made it. Could we actually be getting some good luck for a change?"
"Don't say anything- you'll jinx it."
She laughed and pressed her hands more tightly to his waist as she leaned to the side a bit to grin at him. "All I know is, I may have to just lay down on that bank once we finally rea-"
Her foot dropped into the underwater equivalent of a pothole and she lost her grasp on Dean and fell into the river. It wasn't very deep where they were, but the strength of the current and the weight of Dean's jacket pulled her under almost immediately. She felt the icy water flowing down her throat as she momentarily struggled to re-surface, but she was just too tired to fight.
White spots were appearing before her closed eyes when she felt herself abruptly being yanked back to the surface, and she sputtered immediately, coughing up water. The next thing she knew, she was laying cradled in Dean's arms on the river bank, coughing in spurts.
"Dani... Talk to me. Are you OK, sweetheart?"
She coughed again and then began shivering uncontrollably. She was freezing.
"Dani?"
She opened her eyes and stared into his concerned ones. "God, I suck."
He laughed with relief and pulled her into more of a sitting position in his lap. "Man, you scared me. One minute you were holdng onto me and the next you were disappearing down the river. I thought I'd lost you."
She took a deep breath and it burned her traumatized lungs a bit. "So much for my luck changing for the better."
She was shivering harder now and he tried to warm her up in his embrace, but he wasn't hopeful. "We better find you someplace warm soon or you're going to get pneumonia."
"Hypothermia."
"What?"
"I'm more likely... to get... hypothermia." She was stuttering under the all the shaking her body was doing.
"Do you think you'll be able to walk?" He rubbed his hands quickly up and down her arms in a feeble attempt to warm her up.
"I... thu...thu... think so." She tried to get up but in the end Dean had to help her. She thought maybe walking would at least keep her circulation moving.
They were at the foot of a steep embankment, and it only got higher to the north, turning into what looked like some fairly impressive cliffs. But to the south, the embankment seemed to level off. Dean wrapped an arm around her shaking shoulders and led her in that direction.
"Damn, I wish I hadn't lost that blanket in the river."
"It's OK, Dean. I think I'm ha...ha... happier that yo.. yo.. you went after me instead of the blanket." He was too concerned about her impending hypothermia to be able to laugh just then, so he just squeezed her shoulders a little tighter.
A minute later, they started to climb the embankment where it seemed fairly low and Dean was mentally crossing his fingers that some sign of civilization was on the other side.
And then he was thanking his lucky stars as he saw something glinting off in the distance. He squinted for all he was worth and was pretty sure he could see a rooftop. "Hallelujah. I think I see something." He kept his arm around her and moved towards the possible building. Dani tried to see what he was talking about but she was trembling too hard to focus. In this case, she was more than willing to take his word for it.
They stumbled onward, but Dani could feel her strength fading. She focused on the terrain in front of them and tried to will her legs to keep walking. And then she saw a familiar sight ahead of them. "Dean... I think... I think that's the Kuaua Pueblo."
"The... the what?"
"It's an old Native American village. I went to it a few times on school trips... when I was a kid."
Dean looked off towards what looked like low stone walls. They were still a ways off, but he could see what looked like a modern building past it. He felt a moment of excitement. If this was a tourist stop...
He was about to ask Dani if that modern looking structure might be a manned info center or something like it, but she chose that moment to collapse in his arms.
"Dani... Come on, now. We're almost there." He helped her settle gently to the earth.
"I'm... sorry, Dean. I...don't..."
"It's OK. I got you." He picked her up in his arms and started walking again. He was beyond exhausted himself, but he would be damned if they couldn't make it the last half mile to shelter... and hopefully some much needed assistance. Dani put her head on Dean's shoulder and he could hear her rasping breaths. "Hold on, darlin'. I'm going to get you somewhere warm."
She tried to alleviate his fears, but she was slipping into unconsciousness, whether from the cold or from her tiredness she wasn't sure. "I'm... OK, Dean. Don't worry. Just... tired."
He knew when she'd passed out because her body became a little more limp in his arms. His own leg was killing him, but he limped along as fast as he could. He was desperate to get her somewhere warm, and fast.
The sun was coming up, but he barely felt a change in the temperature. Early morning was still pretty chilly in the winter, even in New Mexico. He cursed out loud because the village didn't seem to be getting any closer, but still he struggled forward.
And then he could finally see the low walls closing in- they looked like some sort of half-exposed archaeological dig. The large new tourist center was clearly visible just beyond the old walls and he tried to quicken his tiring pace. It was still pretty early, so there probably wouldn't be anyone on site yet, but he'd break down the door if it meant getting Dani somewhere warm.
He was gasping under the strain when he finally reached the outside wall... and that's when he stumbled over some loose ground and his legs gave out. As he fell to the ground, he twisted to the side to cushion Dani with his own body and they dropped to the earth.
When he'd recovered the wind that had been knocked out of his lungs, he hollered out in frustration.
"SON OF A BITCH!"
He struggled to get free from under Dani, and when he tried to crawl to a crouching position, a piercing bolt of pain shot up his leg from his wounded shin and he squeezed his eyes shut under the agony. When he could see clear again, he bellowed once again.
"Are you fucking kidding me?!! ARG!!!"
He pulled Dani into his side and tried to make her comfortable. He felt the slightest bit of relief when she seemed to snuggle in closer to him, and he heard her mumble his name into his shoulder. And then he felt the frustration take hold again.
"FUCK!"
He held her close to him and put his face in her hair, thinking maybe he just needed a moment before he could try to get up again... and then he heard a voice in the distance.
"Dean?"
He was positive he was hallucinating. And then he heard it again, closer.
"Dean?!!"
He turned his head hopefully back towards the big building in the distance. Was that his brother moving towards him? "Sammy?!!"
The figure picked up its pace and started to run towards him. He almost wept with joy. "Sam!"
Sam finally reached him and dropped down onto his knees before the two bedraggled people on the ground. "Dean! Oh my god- are you hurt?"
"Yeah, but I'll live. Once again, I don't know if I've ever been this glad to see you before." He smiled widely despite his beleaguered state. "Tell me my car is over there somewhere?"
"Yeah, of course it is. But-"
"Take her now and put her in the back seat. Grab a couple blankets out of the trunk, jack the heat up and get her out of my wet jacket, fast." He pushed Dani towards his brother and Sam scooped her up easily, but he hesitated before moving.
"Are you sure you're-"
"Just go. Once you've got her somewhere warm, come back and get me."
Sam nodded and then took off at a slow jog with Dani in his arms. Dean watched his brother's retreating back and sighed with relief, the smile firmly etched on his face now. They weren't completely out of the woods, but they were well on their way.
Sam snapped his cellphone closed and looked in the rearview mirror as he drove along the highway. Dean had his arms wrapped around a sleeping and blanket encased Danielle Archer. Another blanket covered them both. Dean's eyes were closed, but Sam wasn't sure if he was asleep.
"What did he say?" Apparently Dean was awake after all.
"He gave me directions to the nearest hospital and he's going to meet us there."
"And he's calling Dani's sister? Drew?"
"Yeah, he's got it covered. She'll probably be at the hospital by the time we get there."
Sam was still processing everything. He and Dean hadn't really had a chance to debrief each other- Dean had only been concerned with helping the woman he currently held in his arms. And the fact that he kept referring to her as 'Dani' implied a certain level of intimacy, he thought. Then again, from the bit of information his brother had shared, they'd apparently been trapped together in some cave up until yesterday, so chances are they'd gotten familiar with each other.
Still, the way Dean had spoken softly to her as he'd climbed into the back seat and taken her in his arms...
"So we're Corbetts now?" Dean's voice startled him from his reverie.
"Huh?"
"Our current last name? I heard you say 'Sam Corbett'."
"Oh yeah. Right. Corbett."
Sam glanced between the road and the rearview mirror. Dean looked pretty haggard, but his voice still held its usual strength.
"OK, so we gotta get our story straight. How do we explain how you found me? I don't think they're going to buy that you saw it in a vision..."
Sam frowned, and was about to tell his brother about the vision, but the woman stirred in his arms, moaning softly. "Dean?"
Dean pulled her a little closer and spoke quietly in her ear. "It's OK, darlin'. I'm right here. I've got you."
She exhaled loudly and then appeared to fall back asleep. Dean looked back towards Sam.
"Alright... how about this: Once we finally got free of the cave and started wandering, I finally got a cell phone signal and I called you for help."
"They'll want to check your phone. You need to lose it."
"I think whomever kidnapped us must have gotten rid of it. I haven't had it since I walked into that alley outside the Archer Building and got nabbed. So I'll say it must have fallen in the river when I had to pull Dani out."
"Sounds good. Let's just hope the kidnappers don't provide your phone at some point."
"Well, if they did, they'd have to explain how they got it."
"Let's hope they feel that way too... But what about her?"
"What do you mean?"
"She knows you didn't have your phone, doesn't she? She knows you never called me."
Dean seemed lost in thought for a moment. "I don't think it will be a problem. I'll just tell her the truth."
Sam's brows went up. "You think she'll believe us?" Then he looked a little more closely at Dean in the mirror. "Is she like me? Does she have special... abilities?"
Dean shook his head. "I don't know. Nothing that I ever noticed, but that doesn't mean they're not there. I mean, your visions are always about old yellow eyes and the rest of your Super Friends buddies, right? I think it's safe to say she might have some abilities."
Sam nodded, thinking about Drew Archer. It wouldn't surprise him one bit if she had some powers... and their experiences so far had taught them that both twins would probably have them.
Sam began to explain what had happened after the two had disappeared, but he hadn't gotten very far when he saw the hospital up ahead. As predicted, Officer Dalton was already there, as was a man who looked like a doctor with a gurney. Sam pulled up in front of them and got out of the car, moving to the back door to help his brother get out.
As Dean passed Dani to his brother, another car appeared beside the Impala. Drew Archer and the tall, dark-haired man Sam recognized from before climbed out and moved in his direction. Drew ran to her sister's side as she was lowered onto the gurney, and the man grabbed Dani's hand and spoke in soft, concerned tones. Dean limped out of the backseat and watched in amazement.
Sam moved to his brother's side in case he wasn't strong enough to keep standing, but a newly lit fire seemed to be burning behind his older brother's eyes.
Dani seemed to be waking under the attentions of her sister and the other man. She shifted herself as the doctor organized her properly on the gurney, and her eyes fluttered as she tried to open them.
And then Sam watched in shock as Officer Dalton proceded to handcuff Dean and read him his rights.