If Paige had leapt from the helicopter into a deciduous forest, she almost certainly would not have survived the fall. The weather might be almost alarmingly mild for the time of year, but it was still winter, and the only trees that had their leaves were the conifers. She tumbled, bouncing off the more flexible branches, grunting as she hit the sturdier ones, and hoping that the snapping that she heard was coming from the trees instead of her body – her adrenaline was too high to feel any pain. It felt like minutes had passed before she could grab hold of a branch, slide off of it, then grab another one and come to a stop – though it couldn't have been more than two or three seconds.

Hanging from the branch – thankfully the rain hadn't really gotten started yet and her grip wasn't slipping now that she'd slowed down, she felt around with her feet, trying to find another branch to drop to. Unsuccessful, she shifted her hands down the branch until she found the tree trunk.

A streak of lightning lit up the sky, giving Paige a sudden fear that there would be another fire after all. But it also showed her that if she let go, she'd fall only a couple more feet before she would land on two branches from two different trees that met almost parallel to each other. Each looked sturdy enough to hold her weight. She waited for another bolt of lightning to better see her landing zone, and dropped.

"Ooof," she said as her feet made contact. She stumbled backward, falling onto her back, and heard one of the branches creak in protest.

She evaluated herself. She had some scrapes – her left shoulder had taken the initial impact into one of these trees and she could feel the blood dripping from a gash. Sliding her hand under her shirt, she felt around the wound. It wasn't pulsing, and wasn't bleeding all that heavily. It wasn't a serious wound.

At the next flash of lightning, she looked down. She was still about twenty feet from the forest floor, and she was already on one of the lowest branches. It was too far to drop from here. People were killed falling off of roofs of two story houses, and this was higher than that.

Paige scooted carefully toward the trunk of the nearest tree, wrapping her arms and legs around it and slowly beginning to shimmy down. The wind wasn't as bad down here – the same density of the forest that threatened the research team had saved her life in the fall and was also serving to protect anyone down here from some of the elements.

After what felt like years, Paige's feet hit the ground. She let go of the tree and whirled around. "Walter!"

It occurred to her as she ran forward that she had no idea which way to go. It was only early evening, but the forest plus the oncoming weather made her current visibility almost alarmingly low. She looked up, waiting for the next bolt of lightning. They'd been flying away from the storm when Walter fell, which meant…

Lightning flashed to her left. Paige turned right and started to run. "Walter!" She screamed. "Walter!"

You don't even know if he's conscious.

She pushed the niggling voice out of her head. He was alive. He had to be. She would know if he was dead.

How would you know if he's dead? How could you possibly know?

"I would know!" she said out loud, forcefully, stopping briefly to catch her breath, hands on her knees. Her heart was pounding as she squinted in the dim light, desperately hoping to see him coming toward her. She straightened up. "Wal! Ter!"

She ran forward again, looking up, trying to see where branches may have broken. Almost right away, her foot caught on a root, sending her toppling forward. She smacked into the hard ground and yelped in pain. Rolling onto her side, she gritted her teeth, breathing through them, praying that the throbbing in her ankle would subside.

When it did, she pulled herself to her feet, moving forward again, more carefully this time. "Walter!" she screamed again. "Walter!" She was winded, and her breaks, hands on her knees and head down, gasping for breath, slowly became more frequent.

She remembered that the helicopter had been making a turn when he'd fallen. Maybe she was heading in the wrong direction. There was no way of knowing. Coming to a stop, Paige pulled out her phone. There was, as expected, no signal, but the time told her that roughly thirty five minutes had passed since she'd dove out of the helicopter. "Walter," she managed, quietly, tears leaking from her eyes. She stopped, leaning against a tree. Above her was a gap in the branches, and rain drops started to hit her skin.

When the next flash of lightning lit up the sky, Paige screamed, not knowing if it was more in shock or in relief.

He wasn't more than six feet to her left. Had she not stopped, she would have gone right by him.

"Walter!" She rushed to his side, dropping to her knees by his head. He was on his side, his eyes closed. "Walter," she said, running her hand over his head, through his hair, feeling for bumps, for blood, praying that she wouldn't feel brain. She couldn't tell if his hair was slick from blood or from rain. Tears leaked from her eyes. "Walter, please." She pressed her fingers to his neck, like Toby had shown her to do. "Oh God," she gasped in relief when his heartbeat pulsed against her fingers.

She heard him groan, and then he rolled onto his back, his eyes fluttering open. "Paige?"

She grabbed his hand. "I'm right here." Looking up, Paige frowned. There was no way he had fallen straight to this spot. He must have come down similar to how she had. She remembered that neither of them had eaten this morning and the dizziness she was feeling was probably amplified in him, given how hard his brain had been working today, trying to process everything.

"Paige what…" He struggled to a sitting position. "What did you do?" He looked around. "It's too early for a rescue party, you…" he looked at her with wide eyes. "What did you do?"

"I…came after you?" She offered, faltering when she realized there was absolutely no rational explanation for why she was here. "How is your head?"

"I've had worse." He winced, clearly in pain, then cleared his throat. "Did you have a plan? For coming after me?"

"Find…find you." She shrugged. "I guess…the plan was just to find you."

"But after that?" He asked, and Paige swore if he shook his head any more it was going to come unscrewed. "You just…jumped out of the helicopter?"

He sounded mad. She knew he hated when she took risks, but… "I knew we were close to the tree line," she said. "It was a calculated risk. I thought you'd be proud."

She couldn't see him well enough to see him roll his eyes, but she knew he was doing it. "Paige, that was so incredibly dangerous."

"I just…" She shifted uncomfortably. "I was scared."

"Well," he said, as the rain started to come down a little harder. "We need to find shelter."

"Can you get up?" She asked, scrambling to her feet and holding her arm out if he needed support. He grabbed her wrist, the strong grip that had brought them through the tornado in Vietnam, and then he was on his feet, surprisingly strong for someone whom she feared was dead mere minutes ago. "Shelter…"

"Over there," Walter said, pointing to the side. "The lightning right before I fell, there was a gap in the trees."

"So…more rain?"

"I saw rocks. There might be a cave, or something. An overhang. Something to keep us dry. We have nothing to signal with; they won't find us tonight. We have to stay dry. It's too cold to get wet."

Paige didn't realize how cold she was until he mentioned it, and she shivered, crossing her arms. Walter moved toward her, instinctively, pulling her close. She could feel him shaking, and she felt the goosebumps on his arm when her hand rested there.

She remembered that day over a year ago when he'd separated himself from her and Ralph on the runaway subway car. I saw you disappearing into the blackness, and it frightened me. She had hoped to never feel that same horror again, and yet here they were, both of them, because when he'd fallen from that helicopter into the rainy night, she'd lost the capability for rational thought.

She loved him. She loved him in ways she hadn't realized she could.

Walter, I'll explain anything you need me to, she thought, as he rocked her gently against his chest. Just let me stay here by your side. That would be enough.

"Come on," he said after a moment, taking her hand and walking toward where he said he'd seen potential shelter. They darted between trees, trying to stay as dry as possible. She noticed he was limping, ever so slightly, just as she was. "There!" He said finally.

There was a rapid elevation change – perhaps of fifty feet – in front of them, an almost sheer rock wall. Near the bottom, erosion had hollowed out a small gap – maybe two feet tall and of an unknown depth. It wasn't a cave. But it would have to do.

"You go in first," Paige insisted, dropping to her knees and feeling the ground. In the space under the cliff, it was dry. "You had a harder fall than I did, you're in worse, shape, you need to stay dry."

"No," Walter said, lowering himself next to her and peering under the ledge. "I'm fine. You're littler, you should go first."

"You won't be able to fit all the way under it."

"It's not big enough for both of us to fit under it, period," Walter said. "But look, it gets narrower the farther in you go. Which means you going in first is most efficient. You can get farther under it than I can, which means a higher percentage of us will be dry."

She rolled her eyes. "I hate it when you're right."

Walter cocked his head. "How do you even stand to be around me, then?"

She bumped her shoulder against his. "Shut up." She eased under the ledge, scooting as far back as she could. It was more than a little claustrophobic, but she tried not to think about that. He had to have as much room under here as possible. He scooted in next to her, grunting. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"I'm just sore."

"Here." She pushed at him, asking for more room, and he obliged instantly. Scooting a fraction forward, she rolled on her side. "Now you have more room."

He turned, facing her, wiggling completely under the overhang. There was no space between them.

Walter didn't sleep.

He wasn't sure if Paige did either, but she sure was quiet.

He hated that she was here. She could have died, leaping from the helicopter, not knowing if he had survived the fall, not capable of getting them to safety anyway. When he was alone, he only had to worry about him. Now, survival was a requirement, because if he didn't get out there, she wouldn't either. He wished he could spend this horrible night knowing that at least she was safe.

But she almost seemed content, as if knowing where he was was her top priority, whether or not it was the most logical scenario be damned. And he couldn't really blame her, if he thought about it. He'd certainly made rash, illogical decisions before when it came to her.

She shifted her weight, still not making any noise. He'd been sleeping at her side for the past four months and he knew when she moved in her sleep she always made a little sound. He didn't know if he couldn't hear it this time because of the sounds of the storm, or if she was awake and didn't make the sound because she didn't know she was supposed to, to keep up the ruse.

This overhang was on higher ground, preventing the rain from seeping through and into their clothes. It was still chilly – especially his back, which was facing the elements, but their body heat cozied up the tiny space, keeping Paige warm as she pressed up against him. He had an arm around her because it kept them in an efficient position for heat storage.

He wasn't angry with her over what happened when he was in space, he really wasn't. But…things felt weird.

When she said she would marry him, when they did get married, when they'd had sex, all through their honeymoon, all through the kissing and posing and interviews of the last four months, she knew that he loved her, knew that he really loved her, not just for show. And during all that time, he didn't know she knew.

That explained the horrible guilt he now recognized had been in her eyes the night they'd slept together.

She wouldn't feel guilty if she didn't…

But she was a normal. Normals felt guilt many reasons, some of which Walter would probably never understand. Just because she'd done so many things over the past few months that might indicate that, perhaps, she did love him right back, as she'd sworn she did when he was hypoxic, he could very easily be reading her wrong.

After all, she was normal, and he was a million miles from.

Morning came, but it didn't get very light. "It looks like it may storm again," Walter mumbled, rolling onto his back and looking out at the forest.

Paige's shoulder hurt from laying completely still on it all night long – she wasn't sure if he'd slept, but she hadn't, not a wink. "They're looking for us," she said. "Right?"

"Of course." Walter nodded. She could see blood on his shirt collar, but it was dry. "You know that we don't…" he looked at her. "We don't leave anyone behind."

"Walter, I know I was stupid for coming after you."

"I probably would have done the same thing," he admitted. His voice grew quiet. "You know how I am when it comes to you." There was a short silence, then Paige's ears picked up a rhythmic sound in the distance. Walter lifted his head an inch off the ground. "Do you hear that?"

"A helicopter." Paige looked at him with wide eyes. "Oh my God."

They scrambled out of the cave, both of them grunting in pain as they asked their bruised and battered bodies to move quickly. They got to their feet and looked upward. "There's no way they see us."

"They'd know that if we were alive, we'd go to a clearing," Walter said. "They'll lower the helicopter as far as they can to better study areas that are open. If they don't find us, they'll switch the operation to recovery and go on the ground, but for now, they're hoping we're alive…and I for one and pretty glad that they're right." He looked around the clearing. "This one is too small for them to land, but it's near a rocky spot. This is an idea place for us to go, both for short term survival and rescue."

"I don't see it!" Paige said, frustrated. "Should we try and climb to the top of the rock face?"

"Not possible without climbing gear," Walter said. "Especially since we both have twisted ankles."

Paige gave a frustrated whine, putting both hands on her head and walking in a circle.

"Let's get into the center," he said, moving to the middle of the clearing and looking up again. He pointed. "There!"

Paige ran to his side, and they both waved their arms frantically as a helicopter came into view. Someone was leaning out the side. "It's Cabe!" Paige shouted, even though Walter could see. "He sees us!"

Cabe disappeared into the helicopter, then returned, holding something up to his face. "Are you guys okay?" He said through it.

Walter jumped up and down in response, Paige gave a thumbs up.

"The weather is getting worse again," he said, "we have to move fast! I'm going to send down a harness on a tether that Happy designed last night. We'll pull one of you up, then send it back down for the other. We gotta go fast because soon we won't be in flying conditions anymore!"

He disappeared into the helicopter. "It's going to be like when people rescue from the water," Walter said, "only it won't be anyone coming down to pull us up. I know how those harnesses work, so we'll be able to get you secured pretty quickly."

"We'll be able to get you secured pretty quickly," Paige said.

"Uh uh. You're going first."

"Walter, no."

"There might only be time for one of us to be pulled up. I will not leave you out here."

"Well, I won't leave you out here either."

"Paige, you have Ralph, you have to go."

Paige's voice was shrill. "Haven't I told you that Ralph and I need you alive?"

"Paige," Walter said fiercely. "It's only a maybe, that there won't be time for both of us. You go first, I'm sure there will be time for me."

"If you're so sure, then you go first."

"Lowering the harness!" Cabe shouted through the megaphone. "Hurry!"

"How about this," Paige said. "We go up together."

"How."

"We'll put you in the harness. Let me finish," she said, holding a hand up to silence him when his mouth opened to protest. "And I'll hang onto you. And they'll pull us both up. I'm sure Happy made some contraption strong enough for that."

The harness lowered to a foot above the ground, and Walter jumped into it, letting Paige help him fasten it securely around him. "Hang on one moment!" Walter yelled up to Cabe, holding a finger up. "Not without you," he said quietly to Paige.

Thunder rumbled – they hadn't even seen lightning. Paige stepped close to him, looking for the best way to hang on.

"Get closer," he said. "I'll wrap my arms…uh…you're probably going to have to…"

Understanding, Paige looked up, nodding at Cabe, giving him the go ahead to start pulling the cable up. She jumped up, wrapping her arms around Walter's neck and her legs around his hips, hooking her ankles behind his back as his arms closed around her.

The ascent took longer than she'd thought – which made sense, given the extra weight – and she knew she was shaking in fear. There was nothing but their grip on each other that was preventing her from plummeting back down to the forest floor, and she knew how rocky that clearing was. If she fell this time, she'd never see her son again.

But she gripped Walter tightly, and she knew that he wouldn't let her go – not as long as he was conscious, and even for a bit after that. Still, she knew her breathing was audible, her mouth right at his ear, and she was certain that he was trying to mumble something like reassurance to her, but anything he was saying was lost in the wind.

When they reached the top of the cable, two men leaned out. One was Cabe. They grabbed Paige and pulled her into the helicopter, and Cabe lowered her gently onto a stretcher inside. "Stay still," he said. "You might have injuries that you don't know about yet."

"Walter," she said, suddenly feeling incredibly weak.

"We've got him," Cabe said, gesturing behind him, where two others were pulling him into the cabin. "We've got you both."

They laid Walter on the stretcher next to her, pulling the doors of the helicopter closed. "Get out of here!" Cabe shouted at the pilot, who Paige thought was the same person who had flown them the day previous.

Her head lolled to the side, looking over at Walter. He was startlingly pale. She slid her hand over to his stretcher, curling her fingers around his, and he squeezed her hand, his head tipping to look at her. He smiled. She smiled back.

"We'll get you two to a hospital," Cabe said, hunkering down next to them. "You've both probably got some injuries that will want to be kept under observation for a day or two. But after that, there won't be anything to worry about."

"Except Hotchkiss," Paige said with an annoyed grunt.

"Nope," Cabe said. "She won't be bothering anything anymore."

"Hmmm. What'd you do?" Walter asked.

"It wasn't me," Cabe said. "She said that she talked to Ralph. And he was very convincing that your marriage isn't a sham. And then she said…" he hesitated. "She's never seen anything quite like you jumping out after him, Paige. She said folks don't do that. She's going to approve Walter's request for citizenship." He smiled down at Walter. "You'll be an American by the time they release you from the hospital."