Winnie continued to bond with Jesse as the days went on while Lena stayed back with Mae. Miles had become nearly silent ever since Lena's outburst towards him. Every time she looked at him, he looked almost guilty which made her feel guilty herself.

There was one day when she went out into the forest to try to ease her mind about her whole situation. She was almost jealous of Winnie for getting the chance to explore with someone like Jesse who really seemed to care for her.

She hadn't gone very far when the smallest hiss made her stomach drop to her feet. She looked down and there on the ground looking up at her was a snake. She had no idea if it was poisonous or not, but she wasn't going to take her chances. Keeping her eyes on it, she ever so slowly began to back away from it. In turn, it began slithering towards her. It reared its head up and looked like it was preparing to strike. Lena began backing away faster, but it whipped its head at her and she immediately felt pain on her ankle.

Suddenly, Miles appeared and grabbed the snake around its neck. She watched as he wrestled with it a bit before killing it. Then he ran over to her and grasped her by the shoulders.

"Are you alright?" When she didn't respond, he said urgently, "Lena! You have to tell me. Did it bite you?"

Lena looked down and lifted the bottom of her dress up a little. There, just above her ankle, were two holes that were dripping blood. She looked back up at him with terror in her eyes. Then she saw black and fell over.

Miles quickly caught her, then hefted the unconscious girl up into his arms and gently rushed her back to the cabin.

"Miles!" Mae called when she saw him approaching with Lena in his arms. "What happened?"

"Snake bite," he answered as he took in the cabin and placed her down on her bed. "It wasn't poisonous."

"Even so, I'll need to clean it and bandage her up. Grab me a couple of dishtowels and some cold soap and water."

"What happened to Lena?" Winnie cried running into the cabin with Jesse.

"She's been bitten by a snake," Mae told her.

"What?!" Miles brought Mae the soap, water, and towels. "She got a snake bite?!"

"Winnie, I'm going to need you to calm down. I promise you that she's going to be fine." Mae took one of the towels and cleaned off the snake bite on Lena's ankle while Winnie anxiously gripped Lena's hand. "Miles," she said once she had finished. "Bandage her ankle while I clean this up."

Miles took some cloth and wrapped it around the bite mark. Mae then came back over and placed a cold cloth on Lena's forehead.

"She'll be okay," Mae said to Winnie.

Towards the end of the day when the sky was turning to a dark blue, Lena's eyes slowly opened.

"Lena!" Winnie exclaimed hugging her tightly.

Lena softly groaned. "What happened?" she asked all of the people standing over her.

"You were bitten by a snake," Mae said to her. "If it wasn't for Miles finding you and bringing you back here…"

"You helped me?" she said to Miles weakly.

He simply nodded to her.

"Luckily for you, the snake wasn't venomous," Mae told her.

"So why did I faint?"

"I suppose it was just the shock of it all. But don't you worry. You are going to be just fine. You need to rest now."

Winnie and Mae stayed by her side while the rest of them left to let her sleep. Mae pulled out her music box and began playing it to soothe Lena and help her rest easier.

"Miles?" Lena called before he departed. He turned back to her. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

By the time she awoke again, Lena felt better than ever. She smiled as she realized Winnie had once more gone out with Jesse. She slowly got out of bed, but once she stood up, her bad ankle faltered and she fell to the floor.

"Lena!"

She looked up and saw Miles rushing over to her. He gently helped her up then he put her arm around his neck and helped her limp over to the chair by the table.

"I wouldn't walk on that until it's had a chance to heal some more," he said to her. "You're probably hungry. Do you want something to eat?"

She nodded at him and he prepared a plate for her with a couple of pancakes Mae had made that morning.

"Thanks," she said quietly.

Miles nodded to her and then turned to leave.

"Miles…how did you know where I was?"

"I had to make sure you weren't trying to escape and go running back to the town," he replied roughly.

"There's more to it than that. Isn't there?"

Miles sighed and took a seat across from Lena. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about what you said."

Lena sighed. "I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to say that my situation was worse than yours. I just—"

"I know. The point is that you've been through a lot too. It's not that either of our situations are worse, but that they have both hurt us. And that's why I wanted to apologize. I didn't realize you had been through so much. I can't imagine what it's been like to grow up like that."

"I can't imagine what it's like to lose the ones you love so much."

For the first time since Lena had been taken, she was beginning to see that she and Miles were more alike than she initially thought.

Once Lena's bite was fully healed and she was able to walk on her own, she went outside to breathe in the fresh forest air.

"Lena," she heard Miles say as he walked over to her. He held out his hand. "Come with me. I want to show you something."

Lena looked at him. Sure she was thankful that he saved her from the snake, but that didn't mean she was fully ready to just completely trust him. He had still taken her away from her home and her life. She couldn't just pretend that never happened.

"Please."

She hesitantly took his hand and allowed him to escort her wherever it was they were going.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked him.

"Just wait a little bit longer."

When they had walked for a little while more, Miles turned to her and put his finger to his lips, signaling her to be quiet. She slowly nodded, wondering what in the world he had planned. Miles quietly stepped closer to one of the numerous trees and motioned her over. She finally saw what he was looking at. A small bird's nest rested on top of one of the branches with three speckled eggs inside.

Miles gently picked one of them up and handed it to her. "Just think," he whispered. "A little bird is sitting in there, waiting to come out."

Suddenly, Lena felt the egg move and part of it cracked in her palm. She gave a small gasp and then a smile to Miles and they both watched as the bird inside ever so slowly made its way out of its little shell. When it finally made it out, it shook its wet feathers and hopped around on her palm. Lena gently rubbed its small head with her finger. That had been the most incredible thing she had ever seen in her life. Being able to witness new life like that was like nothing she had ever experienced before.

She gently put the small little bird back inside its nest to wait for its siblings to hatch. "Wow," she breathed. When she looked over at Miles, she saw something she never expected to see. There was a smile on his face. "So that's what a smile look like on you," she said to him. "I like it. You should smile more often."

And that was when the walls Miles and Lena alike had built up around them finally began to come down.