Mindy's a sopping wet mess when he runs into her, the poncho hanging heavy on her shoulders as they both go flying into the mud. He can't really hear anything over the sound of the downpour, but he can imagine that indignant curses accompany the small fists raining down on him.

Somehow she ends up on top of him, mud streaked hair sticking to her face as she continues her ineffectual beating. She can't quite get the leverage she needs, trapped as she is by her twisted garment. Finally, she gives up, collapsing on his chest panting.

Danny takes the opportunity to sit up, fearful that she might get her wits about her and try and shove his face down in the slowly rising water beneath them, but she's limp against him like an exhausted child.

They're much closer to the shelter of the overhang than the road, and Danny makes the snap decision to drag her to it. She only fights him for a second, pulling away to grab her bag from the puddle it's sitting in.

The ground slopes gently upward as they trudge along, the rising elevation a comfort to Danny. He knows next to nothing about rainstorms in the desert, but he's pretty sure in any case higher is better.

The overhang is larger than it looked before, providing a full fifteen feet of coverage. He pulls her to the back wall, collapsing against the stone out of breath.

Mindy crouches in a sitting position, pulling her knees up to her chest. She stares out in the darkness as if she can see the desert spread out on the inky horizon. Danny drops down beside her, hip bumping her as he adjusts himself on the rocks.

He can tell that she's shivering, a persistent tremor shuddering through her every couple seconds. He's cold himself, the prickle of goosebumps spreading across the surface of his skin, but after their most recent interaction he's not inclined to put his arm around her. He stares out into the darkness too.

Time doesn't pass in any measurable way as they sit in silence, but eventually the whipping wind begins to ease up, and the rain begins to peter off. When the moon peeks out from behind the blanket of coal black clouds their dilated pupils take in every bit of its glowing light.

"I didn't want anything." He sounds sullen, and mentally kicks himself. "I mean-"

"I know what you mean." The words are muffled, caught in the fabric wrapped around her knees. She doesn't raise her head to look at him.

"I'm the last person in the world to try and tell you people are good. They're not. People are... depraved. They're selfish and self-centered. You're right. Nothing's given freely. Everyone is scum."

He's getting a little bit worked up as he lists all the faults of humanity, his faults. "And you're right to be wary. You got in the car with a crazy person who's driving three thousand miles across the country to bash his own father's face in. Be afraid."

He expects her to recoil from him in fear, possibly disgust, but instead he feels the gentle weight of her hand on his arm."I don't think you're scum."

He can see her in the moonlight, all the clouds chased away from the glowing orb. She's smiling again, a little weakly, but a smile nonetheless. He's hot under the collar in spite of the chill.

"Scum would have totally copped a feel back there at the motel." She squeezes his arm in reassurance, smile unwavering.

Laughter spills out of Danny unexpectedly, cutting through the thickness in his throat. "Well, actually..."

He can't get anything else out. Her tiny fists are coming down on him yet again, and suddenly he's gasping with laughter. He can hear her own amusement in the halfhearted how-dare-yous interspersed between blows.

Out of breath, she leans against him. "You're not really gonna punch your dad in the face, are you?"

Her cheek is resting against his shoulder, soft and warm against him. He can feel her body heat through the layers of damp fabric between them. "He's a dick. Left when I was thirteen without a word."

"You still miss him?"

Danny deflects. "Do you miss your family?"

"Every minute of every day." She points up at the sky. "I have a baby brother. When we were kids we used to climb up on the roof of the garage and look at the stars. Rishi could name all of the major constellations by the time he was seven." Her fingertip tracks across an invisible line. "I was terrible at it. I think that's Ursa Major."

"You didn't live in the city?"

She shakes her head. "Suburbanite through and through... When I'm not hoofing it across the country."

"About that..."

"Med school wasn't what I expected. Everything before had come so easily, and it was just... I didn't even know if it's what I wanted, and the loans were stacking up to hundreds of thousands of dollars." She shrugs, voice getting quiet. "So one day, I just left. I call sometimes, so they know I'm okay, but... It's been so long, I can't go back."

"Why not?"

"It's all they ever talked about. Doctor doctor doctor..." She sneaks a glance. "You know what it's like."

One side of his mouth quirks up in an ironic smile. "Not really, no. Ma was always more concerned with keeping me out of trouble than getting me into med school."

"Troublemaker?"

"Not any more than any of the other kids on the island."

"And your dad wasn't there..."

He's kind of astonished at how she has circled the conversation back to the topic of his father. Apparently deflection isn't effective with her. His legs scrabble around on the gritty sandstone, feet trying to find purchase. In seconds he's pulling away from her, ineffectually dusting the grime off. "Let's get back to the car. If we're lucky we'll make it to L.A. by sunrise."

She nods and accepts his help up, teeth beginning to chatter as the chill makes its way through her abused blue poncho. This time he doesn't feel so odd about putting one arm around her shoulders.

A/N: to the one person who left a review, thank you so much. I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know what you think. It makes me so happy.