It was so warm and comfortable, Kristin didn't want to ever move again. A small twinge of pain in her leg started to irritate her, and sighed, trying to shift it. The twinge flared at the movement, and she gasped, opening her eyes at the same time. She was in a clean room she had never seen before. The walls were white and decorated with primitive but beautiful artwork. An IV led into to her wrist from a bag hanging beside the bed.
In a chair, pressed up to the bed. Nathan sat, half slumped over onto her. A thick brace held one arm up and the side of his face was plastered with bandages. Kristin reached out carefully and ran her hand through his hair. He awoke with a start, "hey there." Nathan smiled widely.
"Your face…" she rasped drily, suddenly noticing how thirsty she was. Nathan stood and picked up a plastic cup from the small table at the foot of her bed and held it to her lips. After Kristin had swallowed a bit she nodded, and pulled away.
"Yes," Nathan finally answered her. "Turns out the snow was soft, but the rocks were not."
"Lucas?" She asked, alarmed, and trying to sit up.
Nathan kept a firm had on her shoulder. "He's ok, a few broken ribs and a cracked sternum.
Kristin nodded, and took his hand in hers. The fingertips were blackened, "frostbite." She murmured, "like… Zellar said he had."
"Yes, but this is real." Nathan hid the damaged flesh in his fist. "The doctor said it wasn't bad, I'll heal." He stared at her for a few moments. "What happened after we jumped? He shot you?"
She sighed, "yes, it was Rubin, but it was an accident."
Nathan's face darkened, "you're not defending him now, are you?"
"No, it's just the truth, he didn't mean to."
"And did he mean to drive the jeep into the trees?"
Kristin shook her head, "that was me actually." She wearily related her story, earning several angry expressions as she did so.
"You drove off the side of a mountain?" He interrupted her near the end.
She nodded, "it was either that or go with him to some other place, and try to escape from there. After we went off the road, it was pretty quick. We bounced off a few trees and came to a stop." Kristin's eyes grew cold and hard, "I saw him... before I blacked out, he was thrown out of the windshield into a boulder." She leaned back into the pillow, "some justice for my brother."
Nathan watched her until she fell back asleep. He kissed her forehead and slipped from the room. Commander Ford stood as soon as he entered the waiting room. "How is she?"
"Good," Nathan answered, sounding troubled "I got the full story on her end. She took so many risks to get away from him. I don't know how to tell her…"
Ford stayed quiet as they both pictured the scene at the accident. Kristin had stayed belted in, and was merely knocked unconscious by the final impact. Gasoline was leaking from the tank, and the engine was smoking. They were forced to pull her free, and away from the area quickly. The jeep was engulfed in flames not soon after, but before it was, they noticed the bloody handprints that covered the outside of the jeep around her door. While checking her vitals, the crew was disturbed to see one distinct print on the side of her face, as if someone who was badly injured took the time to lovingly hold her before leaving.
After Nathan and Lucas were transported to the hospital with her, the rest of the crew continued to search. They found several places Dr. Zellar had fallen, staining the snow with his blood. But, the tracks disappeared, as did he.
The next time Kristin woke, Lucas was sitting at her bedside, sliding a phone into his pocket. "Sorry, if I was too loud. Captain Bridger asked me to stay with you, while he filled out the paperwork to get home. I had to call my father, I couldn't wait any longer."
She nodded, "don't worry about it, dear. How is he?"
"Freaked," he shrugged, "understandable, I guess. I'm going back to stay with him for a while after we leave." Lucas scratched at the tight tape wrapped around his ribs and sternum.
"How are you?"
She watched him think about the question before responding. "Good, I mean, my chest hurts like hell, but it'll heal. And the shocks are a lot less severe most of the time."
"And the panic attacks?" She asked softly.
Lucas snorted, "none since the jump."
Kristin raised an eyebrow, "really?"
"Yeah, I guess it kind of cured me. Falling like that, and rolling down a mountain, and then dealing with the avalanche, that was the scariest thing I've ever dealt with. And, well, I survived." He smirked, "after all that, I don't think anything could freak me out as bad."
"I'll have to remember that next I have a patient with panic attacks," she rolled her eyes. "Just toss them out of a building, that'll help."
Lucas laughed, and rested his chin on the bed. "So, now what?" Kristin merely looked at him, not understanding. "After all that happened, what do we do next?"
"I, for one, am going to spend the next several weeks on the beach, in the sun, far away from snow." Kristin announced, "after that, we shall see."