Disclaimer: Not mine, no copyright intended

A/N: The morning after the night before is always a little awkward, but even more so when there's no escape. Comments and reviews are always appreciated!

When Abby emerged sheepishly from the cave the next morning, Danny was already awake. He was dampening down last night's fire.

"Morning." She said softly.

"Hey." He replied, not looking up.

Ok, so this was more than a little awkward. Abby took her water bottle and drank down most of what was left in it. "Danny, last night..." she began.

"It's OK, you don't need to say anything. We were both just..." he struggled to find the right words.

"Scratching an itch?" Abby said. Danny smiled and nodded. "Are we OK? I don't want any awkwardness between us."

"We're fine. Maybe it didn't even happen." Danny said. Abby felt relieved, being stuck here so far from home with Danny was difficult enough without them feeling awkward around each other, especially as they were just starting to feel a bit more relaxed.

Abby grabbed a piece of fruit and sat on a nearby rock, watching Danny. She switched on her anomaly detector, and waited for the beep that would indicate an open anomaly. It remained silent, and after a few minutes she switched it off and threw it to the ground. "Damn!" she shouted, and realised she had tears falling down her cheeks.

"Abby?" Danny said, coming to sit beside her. "What's wrong?"

"I just want to go home." She said, angrily wiping her face.

"I know, so do I. I know this is hard, but we have to stay strong. If we give up hope, then we have nothing." He squeezed her hand. "Perhaps we need something to focus on, keep ourselves active."

"Last night wasn't active enough for you?" Abby laughed, feeling herself blush slightly.

"That wasn't what I meant and you know it!" Danny laughed back. "I thought that we should try and vary our diet a bit, we need some protein. I reckon there's fish in that lake, we could have a go at trying to spear some."

"You want to go back into the lake after what happened?" Abby said.

"Not particularly, but if it means another source of food then I'm willing risk it."

"We don't have any spears." Abby said.

"Stop being so negative! There's a penknife in one of the rucksacks, I reckon I could fashion something resembling a spear from one of those long branches over there."

Abby shook her head. She wished she could think of something more constructive to help their situation. Reality was setting in; they weren't going home any time soon, possibly never. This was it, this was how life was going to be for the foreseeable future. She needed space, to be on her own and think. "I'm going back to that spot where we found the fruit, we're running a bit low." She said, grabbing her rucksack and standing up.

"Abby, you shouldn't go anywhere on your own. I'll come with you." Danny said.

"I'll be fine!" she snapped back. "I don't need a babysitter."

"OK. But if you're not back in an hour, I'm coming to look for you." Danny said. He recognised the look on her face and knew she would not be talked into doing anything she didn't want to do.

She softened straight away, realising Danny was only being sensible and practical. "Sorry." She said. "I just need to be alone for a little while."

"I understand." Danny said. "Here, take my gun. It's got a couple of bullets left should you need them." He passed her his handgun and she nodded gratefully. She hated guns; but realised the tranquilisers she had were probably useless now. Danny glanced at his watch. "One hour."

"Thanks." She muttered, and headed away from the clearing that had been their home for the last couple of nights.

-o-

Finally alone, Abby found a rock and sat down. She could now let her tears flow freely. They had been here the best part of a week now, and yet it felt like a lifetime ago since she'd seen Connor. She closed her eyes and tried to picture him; his smile, that dimple in his cheek, his chocolaty brown eyes twinkling. She wasn't certain when she'd actually fallen in love with him, it had just crept up on her. If he was here now, she'd make him realise how she felt and how sorry she was that she'd messed him about. It was probably too late now; she'd never see him again and all she had now was Danny.

She wiped her eyes and stood up again, trying to remember which way to go. She had to stop thinking about the 'what ifs' and concentrate on the here and now. It could be a hell of a lot worse; she could be here alone. At least Danny was someone who seemed resourceful and had the determination not to give up. That attitude could mean the difference between survival and death. They had to make the best of a bad situation and try to keep their sanity. Maybe that was what last night was about; keeping sane by finding something ordinary in an extraordinary situation.

She glanced at her watch, she had already been gone half an hour and she hadn't even found the fruit trees yet. She didn't want Danny to think she wasn't capable of doing something simple. She set off again, feeling a little more positive than when she had first started off. The trees were just ahead of her now, and she could see the red fruit glowing in the sunshine. As she climbed up into the upper branches to reach the riper fruit, she lost herself in the task; her worries forgotten briefly.

She picked 30 or so fruits and crammed them into her rucksack, then turned to begin her descent. As she looked down to find a branch to put her foot on, she spotted movement below and froze. Through the branches she could see a creature pacing around the base of the tree, waiting for her. "Go away!" she hissed through her teeth. She couldn't work out what it was, but if its growls were anything to go by, it didn't sound very friendly. It didn't look like it was going away any time soon either; it knew she was there and she looked very much like its next meal.

Trembling, she pulled out Danny's gun. Becker would have had no hesitation in killing it, but it went against everything she believed in. She couldn't kill it, despite the fact she knew it would kill her easily. Her finger curled around the trigger, her whole body shaking. Closing her eyes, she fired, not aiming at the creature, just hoping for the best. She thought the sound would frighten it off, but when she looked it was still there. "Damn it!" she yelled. Now what? She still had another bullet, but firing it would just be a waste. Maybe if she stayed still enough, it would just give up and move on. She waited, her eyes closed and her heart pounding.

Suddenly she heard a yell, and the creature growled and yelped. She looked down; it was laid on its back with what appeared to be a spear sticking out of it and blood pouring from the wound. "Abby?" she heard Danny call.

"I'm up here." She called back, her voice trembling. Danny came into view and she scrambled down to meet him. He wrapped his arms around her. "Thank you!" she whispered.

"It's OK. I heard the gun shot and guessed you were in some kind of trouble. That spear was pretty good eh?"

"Where the hell did you learn to aim like that?" Abby said, pulling away.

"I was in the athletics squad at school. Javelin was one of my events." He grinned. They both laughed, relieved that disaster had been averted yet again. "I guess this makes us even now eh?" he said.

"You're keeping count? Typical!" Abby laughed.

"Of course! I'm a bloke aren't I?" He put his arm around her shoulder. "Come on, I reckon we shouldn't hang around here too long. It's probably got a bunch of mates on their way over right now."

"You're right. At least that cave is relatively safe." Abby said. "And it's the nearest thing we've got to home right now." It was the first time she had openly admitted that she was thinking about having to settle here.

As they walked back, Danny chattered on about making more spears and other tools. "Maybe we could try fishing tomorrow?" he said.

"Sounds good. You could try and teach me to throw a spear too, could come in handy." Abby replied.

-o-

As night fell, Abby found herself incredibly tired. She had crawled into the cave, leaving Danny sat by the glow of the fire making another spear. She'd fallen asleep pretty much straight away, but was woken some hours later by the familiar sound of rain. It sounded pretty heavy. Where was Danny though? Surely he wasn't still outside in this? She poked her head out and couldn't see him in his usual spot by the fire. She'd tried to persuade him to sleep in the cave, but he'd insisted he was OK outside. She scanned the surrounding area, trying to find him. He was sheltering under an overhanging rock.

"Danny!" she called. "Come inside! You'll catch your death!"

He ran over and crawled inside. It was bit cramped but it had to be better than him getting soaked to the skin and making himself ill. "You're sure about this?"

"Danny, after you saved my life today, I at least owe you a dry place to sleep." She said.

"Thanks." He said, trying to manoeuvre himself into a comfy position that wasn't invading Abby's personal space. It was difficult, and they eventually settled on sleeping top-to-toe. It should have felt strange; sleeping so close together, but it didn't. The warmth of his body next to hers made Abby feel safer than she'd done since being here. She knew he was more than capable of dealing with a creature, and that he would take care of her. She'd never thought she needed taking care of, until today. If this was going to be her life from now on, then she could cope with Danny at her side.