The Crossroads to Eternity

by EarlyMorningWriter

Corporal Simpson joined the Army out of necessity and after two tours in Afghanistan he thought he could handle anything. When his unit is assigned to operate a quarantine camp in Maryland he meets his match in the young redheaded woman that Mike Slattery once described as, "a trouble maker if there ever was one." But sometimes it turns out that trouble is just what you need.

6. Crossroads 6 - Everlong

**Everlong, Foo Fighters**

Garth was asleep when the trucks pulled back into camp around 2 AM. Specialist Goodwin shook him awake. "Sargent, we're almost there." Even after three days on the road, the new rank sounded foreign to his ears. If the responsibility of the position didn't terrify him, the knowledge of what had happened to Mueller did. Mueller had been the commanding officer on his first tour in the Middle East. He'd been in awe of him from day one. But instead of the vital man who had once waded into the muddy Kabul River to drive anchor posts along side his men, he'd found a bloody shell. Clearly beaten, his body had been left for the Army to find as a warning; he was sure of it. He scrubbed a hand over his face and tried to maneuver himself into an upright position. With his knees pressed against the back of the passenger's seat, there wasn't much he could do to get comfortable until they could get out. Well, if he was being honest with himself, he'd be restless and unnerved until they got back and he could see for himself that everyone was ok.

In front of him, Captain Tyrone Harris stretched his equally long legs and stared wide eyed at the long line of people waiting to get into the camp. When he saw the bus and the Maryland State Patrol cars his head whipped around, the whites of his eyes shining bright under the streetlights. "That's them. Those were the uniforms on the guys that razed the other camp. We need to get rid of them right away." The survivors had explained to Garth how the Staties had gotten more and more aggressive with people entering Camp 5 until they had incited the rioting that lead to a faceoff with the Pennsylvania National Guardsmen. He'd found it hard to believe. Sure, he didn't understand why they were trying to recruit people in line here when there were plenty of people who needed somewhere to go, but seeing the panic in the other man's eyes brought an anxious churning to Garth's empty gut. The survivors of Camp 5 lauded the heroism of the guardsmen who had arrived just in time to rescue a few of them, but Mueller's own notes indicated he'd taken a meeting with a Major Selkirk two days before. Selkirk had warned him to discourage people from going with the Staties. He was convinced they were being sent to work camps for a warlord. Mueller's note in the margin to "Send a team to Baltimore to follow up ASAP." didn't tell him enough to know if it was good intel or not. And Captain Harris wasn't able to help either. He'd been in Pittsburgh at the time and had only come this far east when he stopped receiving any radio communication from Selkirk.

"One thing at time. We'll brief Velasquez and he'll decide what to do about them." Garth reached behind the seat for his gun. "Goodwin, take us around behind the field house. Less chance of any issues with civilians waiting outside the fence."

"Wait!" Harris raised a hand to where a bandage covered a large gash on his head. "Before I go in there, can you promise me that you won't tell Aiden that we were hiding when you found us?"

Goodwin pressed her lips together. She'd already told Garth in private what she thought of the man. But in Garth's view her criticism was short sighted. Without Harris they would have never found out that the Staties were getting so aggressive in recruiting people. Besides, what did she expect him to have done, commanded his unit to face off against artillery fire with no protection? Even in Afghanistan they'd usually had structures or even caves to hide in. "What you tell Aiden is up to you. But the Major will need to know all the details."

He ducked outside and took up a position by the front bumper of the truck. But as much as he should be watching the corner of the field house to see if anyone had followed them, his eyes kept straying toward section 2. It would likely be hours before he made it back to his own tent and he craved the comfort of his airbed and the peace of mind of knowing that Riley and Aiden were OK.

Riley woke with a start. She'd always been an early riser but waking before the sun was fully up wasn't normal even for her. An unfamiliar sniffle had her rolling over so fast she went right off the side of the unsteady airbed. She felt firm hands slide under her arms and begin to haul her to her feet as she made out a man she'd never seen before kneeling next to Aiden's cot and singing softly in a deep baritone. "What the…"

"Shhhhh." The hands shifted to steady her and she realized it was Garth. "That's his father." There was an awe in his voice as he drew her back against him, one arm across her middle to keep her from following her first instinct and going to protect Aiden. Although as she watched, she came to the conclusion that he didn't need any protection. The man drew a gentle finger down Aiden's cheek, stopping his song to whisper "He's already grown some." She let herself be supported as she held her breath to see how the boy reacted.

Aiden stirred under his touch and opened his eyes a fraction. They closed again and she thought he might not be fully awake. Finally, with a soft smile, the one he made when he reached for Doggie or she zipped him into his red sweatshirt, he began to sit up. The man she didn't know kept singing, but there was a new tremor in his voice. A thick lump formed in her throat.

"Daddy?" It was a tiny, disbelieveing whisper at first. Then his eyes flung wide open. "Daddy?" He flung himself into the man's arms. "Oh Daddy! Betty it's my Daddy!" He dissolved into tears even as his skinny arms encircled the man's neck and slid into his lap. He was both crying and laughing at the same time. "You have a boo boo!"

The man's voice cracked as he explained to Aiden that he would heal and that he knew about Mimi and that Aiden's mother was safe in Pittsburgh. The sense of intruding into someone's private moment became overwhelming and she turned into Garth's chest with a sniffle. The letter he'd left, undoubtedly intended to make her worry less, had completely failed. Instead, after everything Velasquez had told her, she'd been anxious and cranky. And now, with his arms around her, the scent of him surrounding her, she was finally able to relax. It might only be for a few days, but she intended to make sure he slept and ate and got everything he needed before he had to go back out there again. As she melted into him she said, "I think it's time for me to cash in on that hug you promised me."

The rumble of laughter under her ear was the best thing she'd heard in days. "Consider it on the house."

Aiden was chattering away to the man she now knew was Captain Harris. "So where did you find him?"

"Trying to help a group of survivors from Camp 5. He left Aiden and his grandmother here while he and his wife reported to their guard units in Harrisburg. He got sent back two days ago to find out what happened to their commanding officer after they suddenly lost all contact. The best we can tell is that he was killed in Philly."

She shivered into him. "I saw the pictures of Camp 8. If Camp 5 was anything like that, it's a miracle that they've found each other."

When he nodded, with his cheek resting on the crown of her head, it mussed her hair all the wrong way. But she didn't care and instead tightened her grip, trying to hold back the huge sobs that threatened to escape along with her leaking tears. She shook witht he effort of holding it in.

His voice was right next to her ear. "Are you sad, that Aiden will be moving on? Is that why you're crying?"

She should have known he'd notice. She rubbed her wet face on his shirt, not caring how unladylike it was, before turning her face up to meet his tired eyes. "No, I'm crying because I'm so happy that it hurts. First you're back safe and whole and then this." She gestured toward Aiden and Captain Harris. "it really is a miracle. There are thousands, probably millions of people struggling just to survive right now. And all these terrible things have happened. And he's a lucky kid, to have a dad who would move heaven and earth to find him. It's like crying at a wedding. This is a better outcome than I ever thought possible."

"Yeah, there's something beautiful about that." He kissed the top of her head. "Don't tell anyone, but the idea makes me a little mushy too. It's the kind of Dad every kid deserves, you know?"

She watched as Aiden grabbed his father by the hand. "Betty, I hungry!"

That was the cue for Garth to make introductions. Captain Harris, who insisted she call him Tyrone, cried when he hugged her and thanked her over and over. Then Chan came by and offered to show the reunited family to the mess and suddenly they were alone.

Garth turned around from where he'd been waving goodbye to Aiden with a promise to meet up after he'd had a chance to rest. Riley was sitting on the edge of the bed, fidgeting with the barrettes that held her overgrown bangs off her face. He knew that if he sat beside her the air mattress would tip her into his side but he did it anyways, enjoying the solid confirmation that she was alive and that this camp was still ok. He wanted to ask her to stay. For the last three days, all he'd thought of was how he needed to suck it up, do the ugly jobs that needed doing, in order to keep her and Aiden safe. It had kept him going when they had counted smoldering bodies on the streets of Philadelphia two days ago. And it had been the reason he'd accepted the hasty promotion and turned around yesterday to find out what was going on in Camp 5. It had been the reason he'd brought Harris back here rather than haul off and chase down Mueller's killers.

But he was also convinced now that they would all be safer somewhere else. Harris wanted to take the survivors of Camp 5 to a lake he knew about in West Virginia and Garth had every intention of asking Velasquez to let him go and help start up a new camp there. Knowing he was likely leaving, it would be wrong to ask her to stay, wouldn't it? He felt the soft rise and fall of her chest where she leaned into him and knew he could be content to just sit here and feel that for hours. It would be one thing if she'd shown any romantic interest in him at all but he knew he was solidly in the friend zone. He knew he was good looking and he probably could seduce her if he tried, but she was seventeen and he was twenty. The sense that it was wrong had been dogging him for weeks now. With his work, he'd never be able to be here like she deserved. But still, he wanted her to stay, more than anything. He hadn't even talked to Velasquez yet and already a huge black hole of futile existance seemed to loom before him.

"Do you think you'll make up with your mother today?" He began unlacing his boots.

Riley shook her head. "I don't think she wants to make up with me. She dismissed everything I was trying to do to keep her and Emma safe. Then she told me she's had enough of all my chaos and drama, as if we should all just go lay down in our tents and wait to see whether the flu or starvation takes us first!" The pain in her voice cut into him. He knew what that felt like, being rejected by a parent, and it wasn't pretty. But he'd survived, maybe even ended up a little better off. He should probably show Christine the benefit of the doubt. After all, he reasoned to himself, it would be wrong to turn Riley away from her mother just because of his selfish to have her.

"She's just human too." At Riley's incredulous brow he was compelled to continue, "She's not that bad. My parents didn't even show up at my high school graduation."

That got her attention and she scooted back to lay on her side, propping her head up on her elbow to listen. "Seriously? So you're not wishing you knew where they were?"

He stretched out, mirroring her pose. "Not hardly! I was a bit of a problem child and they sent me off to military school at 15 to straighten out. They made the decision without talking to me, about twenty minutes after my first screw up in ninth grade."

"That's horrible!"

He hid his grin. Somehow he'd known she'd be on his side. Still, he felt compelled to back up her defense with the worst part. I she understood how uncaring some parents could be, maybe she'd see that her mother was just doing her best to cope under extreme circumstances. "It took a while, but I got it together there, figured out how to behave, how to tame my impulsivity. At graduation I was top of my class, headed to Virginia Tech to study mechanical engineering. My parents didn't show. Instead, after the ceremony the headmaster pulled me aside and gave me a letter from my father. He was very apologetic that he hadn't been able to get it to me before the ceremony. He thought it must be a congratulatory letter and that my father must be very proud of me. Instead, the letter coldly stated that my father had spent my college tuition on my high school. I was 18 and he felt he'd done his duty by me. I was free to be my own man."

Her eyes went wide. "A letter? You at least deserved a face-to-face!"

Garth swallowed. "Well, in his defense, The reason I ended up at Fishburne was that I broke his nose one night when he hauled me home from a night screwing around with my other delinquent friends. It made the papers right in the middle of his first campaign. He didn't want anything to do with me after that." The few people he'd ever told always focused on how his father was a coward or some such nonesense. But the truth was, it was his own fault.

Her tiny body quivered with indignation and she stabbed the bed with her finger. "It doesn't matter. What a cruel thing to do to his own child! It was his job to teach you, not some faculty at a school somewhere where he didn't have to make any effort. What a lazy scumbag. He doesn't deserve to know you've turned out to be such an amazing man, despite his poor influence." He smiled despite himself. Defending himself outright might have felt false, but when she said those things he felt vindicated for the negative feelings he still harbored toward his parents. He'd long ago given up on the idea that other people's opinion mattered for his self worth, but somehow her opinion still mattered to him.

"My father is, or was, a state senator. Before that he ran a bar and was mayor of a coal mine town. And before that he was a Marine. He's dedicated his life to service. He's not a bad man."

"Well," She sniffed loudly. "Marine huh. Are you saying you got all the brains in the family?" His spirits lifted a little further. There was something so normal about a Navy brat razzing on the Marines that he could almost forget the horrible discoveries of the last three days. "He might not be a bad man, but he's not a great man like you are. It's not about status and titles." She went on. "It's about who you are. Take it from someone who has been lucky enough to know some great people."

He smoothed some of the hair that had escaped her barrettes back behind her ear and then let his hand drop to the bed between them. "How did you get so wise for someone so young Betty?"

She laughed softly, with a quick glance toward the tent entrance. "Someone once told me I needed to grow up. I'm trying my hardest." They lay in silent companionship for a minute and he searched for another hair that was out of place just so he'd have an excuse to touch her. Despite the fact that he'd been away for three days, their connection was as concrete as ever. He almost gave in and pulled her toward him when she finally broke the silence "So now I'm curious, what happened after your parents abandoned you? Did you have some big confrontation or something?"

Garth's laugh was a short bark. "Nope. Not hardly. I asked the headmaster what was the absolute last date to move out of my dorm and he gave me three days. It was the best he could do, although he did offer to let me stay with his family as long as I wanted."

She gasped, "Three days!"

"I didn't want to be anyone's charity case so I begged a ride to the local recruiting office. But it was too late int he season to score a ROTC scholarship so the next thing I knew I was on a bus to Fort Leonard Wood for Basic.

"So did you still see your parents after that?" She sighed heavily and the air in the bed readjusted just enough that their knees touched. How could she not see how hard it was for him not to just lean over and kiss her senseless? "Right now I'm not any more interested in talking to my mom than she is to me. But I assume we'll both get over it eventually."

He shrugged and wondered if he ought to sit up again. Maybe it would be safer with more distance between them. "There have been family functions, you know, weddings and funerals and stuff like that. If I'm expected somewhere my father will call me and curtly explain that my mother or my stepmother expects me. And I show up, in a neatly pressed uniform, on my best behavior. And when I've been there long enough to be polite, I leave. It's ok. I'm a bit of a loaner anyways. You kind of get to be when you spend your first 14 years as the class screwup. I like the peace and quiet in my life, the orderliness."

She slipped her fingers into his and squeezed. "I'm sorry Garth, it just sucks. And now Aiden and I have screwed with the good life you've managed to make for yourself. I'll make up with my mother, get out of your tent. I promise."

"Nah, it's alright." He patted the colorful quilt between them, all the while panicking inside. She'd invaded far more than his tent and now she was all but promising to leave. How did he stop that without outright asking her to stay? He held himself as still as possible, wondering how far she'd push it. If she started making plans to go he had two choices, forget right and wrong and beg her not to, or just let go. "I was due for a little color in my life."

Riley shook her red curls. "Well I can provide that! But, is it going to be ok if I still stay here? I can't go back into my mother's tent but I am sure I can find someone else to bunk up with if you don't want me to stay." She looked up at him from beneath her nearly invisible lashes and he wondered if the hopeful look was real or something he was imagining.

"No, it's alright. Let's just give things a few days to settle down. Things will be OK with your mom." He knew what he should say but he couldn't form the words. What would he be living for if she went? "She loves you and your sister. Better not to force anything when everything is all chaotic anyways." That was dangerously close to crossing the line he'd set but he'd be dammed if he didn't give her every chance to decide for herself.

She squeezed his hand. "Oh thank goodness you said that! Because I am totally drained from worrying for the last few days and then with Aiden's Dad arriving on top of that I don't think I could handle the drama of apologizing to her today. If you tried to kick me out I would have argued my case until you gave in, at least for the next night."

He laughed softly and rolled onto his back beside her, leaving their hands connected between them. "Ha, I wouldn't have lasted long. The good thing about being a Hulk, people tend to back down before you ever get to an argument. But you…I don't think I have that kind of power over you. Nothing scares you."

The lines around her mouth folded into deep grooves as she grinned up at the tent canopy. "That's not exactly true, but I don't give up."

"I've noticed. You know you are pretty amazing."

She sat up and he wondered if he'd pushed the friend zone too far and made her uncomfortable. But then she twisted like she was going to stand. "Thanks. I need to hear that every now and then…from someone other than the little voice in my head."

"Anytime Betty." He was going to stay here, while she got up for her day, and catch up on three nights of sleep. There was no question what he'd be dreaming about. But if he knew she'd be back later, he'd be ok.

But she didn't stand up. "You're wrong that I don't get scared, I'm terrified right now. When I first met you, and you made that cruel comment about my Dad.."

He cringed and tried to take back his fingers, but she wouldn't let go. "I really am sorry. I'm so so sorry that I said that. Sometimes I'm a total jerk." It had been the ultimate low point of his morale, for sure.

She placed a hand on his chest. It was soft and gentle, and accepting. He loved that about her. She saw the ugliness in people and accepted them anyways. "I know. But it's ok. It made me so mad because it was true. And I already knew it, was already living with the fear that it was true. But I've come to terms a little with it, I think. I might never see him again. I know I will never see my little brother again. I just hope I live to leave this camp." Her voice dropped to a whisper; her eyes lowered. "I am so afraid that this is where I'll die, in a muddy field next to a dingy brick building. My life won't have meant anything."

"I never felt afraid I'd die when I was overseas. But here, I don't want to die here either. I'm doing my best for this camp, but it might not be enough. The next thing to come at us might be totally beyond our control." Once she'd named his fears more clearly than he ever could it just seemed natural to let them out. "After what I saw in Philly and the other camps, I'm convinced we need to get away from those Staties. I don't know what is going on, but I don't like it. The Major wasn't convinced enough yesterday but Harris and I were talking on the way back last night. He wants to take the Camp 5 survivors to a place he knows in West Virginia, get up in the mountains where it's coolor and less populated." He sighed and ave words to a thought that had just begun to form. The best thing he could do for her was help her survive. "He's not under Velasquez' command." You should go with him even if I can't. You'll have a better chance that way."

She gripped his shirt slightly to keep him from flopping onto his back again. "You know what I think? I think we should make a pact."

"A pact?" Hadn't she heard him? He was trying to tell her how to save herself.

"Yeah, if there's a chance to go, to a different place, a different camp, see something beautiful, do something worthy, let's both go."

"You mean like a pact that neither one of us will let the other die here alone?" Her usually flashing eyes were a deep, dark blue resort, like a swimming hole on an overcast day. And his mind was instantly more calm than it had been had since they got here. There were a million ways this could all play out but she'd just cut through it all and offered one that made sense, no matter what happened.

"Yeah, something like that. But let's be more upbeat about it. Neither one of us will leave the other behind. Then we'll have a purpose, to help each other. Even if the worse happens, here or somewhere else, we won't have failed at life." Didn't she know, she'd already given him purpose? If the camp was suddenly flooded it would be her head he'd look for above the waves.

He nodded slowly. "OK. But you should know, I'm not always good, not like you. I spend most of my life in my own head. I'm often a jerk to people. And you could definitely do better."

Maybe if he'd gone to a co-ed high school and had a few more experiences with girls he would have recognized the look in her eye before she did it. But when she leaned in and lowered her lips to his, it caught him completely off guard. And sure, he wasn't entirely inexperienced. But maybe if all his encounters with girls hadn't been one night stands he would have recognized that her kiss wasn't an innocent "Thank you" before she rolled onto his hips and straddled him. And maybe if he'd had just a tiny bit more willpower he would have resisted when she began undoing his shirt, or when she drew his hands under hers, or when she ordered him to "Stop trying to plan the future and just be alive with me today."

But he didn't resist. And he didn't give any thought to the fact that he ought to consider her off limits when he helped her slip out of her tiny tank top and running shorts. And he certainly was not able to think clearly by the time he was palming her perfect breasts and covering her mouth so that her little moans of pleasure couldn't be heard in the neighboring tents. And at noon, when he woke up feeling her soft skin under his fingertips, he simply began to worship her all over again. Because there were a million reasons why they didn't make sense in his own head, but if they did in hers, who was he to argue?

Riley woke up in the late afternoon to find Garth propped on an elbow, staring down at her. Her first instinct was to reach up and smooth her curls which were almost certainly a mess after sleeping on them in the humid air, not to mention rolling around an air mattress half the day. But as she lifted her arm she realized she was nude. Her eyes shot to Garth's face, only to find him watching her, his mossy green eyes hooded, a tremulous smile leaking from the corners of his mouth. "Hey." She whispered.

"Hey yourself." He didn't move a muscle, just continued to stare at her as if he couldn't believe she was there with him. She reached for the blanket, wondering if he was trying to figure out what to do with her now that she'd thrown herself on him.

But his smile widened and the crinkles around his eyes folded in on themselves as he caught her hand. "You don't have to cover up for me. I was enjoying the view." He waggled his brows and a giggle welled up inside her.

"Well then…" She rolled onto her back and stretched, feeling his eyes on her as she flexed and relaxed different muscles. "I need some more exercise." She rolled back into him. "Close your mouth Garth, before you start catching flies."

"I've got a better idea." He cupped the back of her neck and drew her down to him. She yielded with no resistance as he thread his fingers into her short curls, holding her there while he kissed his fill. She felt her languid pulse leap to life. She ought to be exhausted after all the early morning drama and skipping two meals, but she felt a new burst of energy growing in her midsection. "I'm kind of hungry but I don't feel like going out where everyone else is yet." He murmured as he nipped at the shell of her ear. She curled into him and marveled for what must be the fiftieth time how someone so large could be so gentle.

She thought she heard something outside the tent and froze for a moment, her fingers gripping his wrist where his hand had been about to slip between her legs. "Relax, trust me, you'll like this." He assured her. She was sure she would. She'd enjoyed every inch of him so far.

She listened for another second but there was nothing so she released his hand and pressed lightly on his shoulders. "Hey, who am I to stand in the way of a starving man?"

With a devilish grin he slipped under the covers, trailing kisses from her collarbone southward. He was laving her navel when she thought she heard it again. "Garth, Garth stop." She whispered frantically. She caught the shadow of two people conversing on the west side of their tent. She watched as the shadows stepped apart, one of them shaking her head furiously, the other counting something off his fingers. It looked like..

"Shit, that's Velasquez." One long arm reached over her and grabbed a tee shirt that had been tossed on the ground beside the bed. "Better put something on."

"Sargent Simpson? Are you decent?"

"Ah, no sir, ah hold on I …"

"Oh for goodness sakes Hector, my teenage daughter's in there!" Christine shoved past the Major and into the tent. One step inside she stumbled to a stop, covering her mouth with her hand. "Riley Louise! You put some clothes on right now! If your father was here to see you he would be very disappointed in your behavior!" Her mother was in fine form this afternoon. Her high pitched voice was accompanied by a perky ponytail and she wore a perfectly coordinated jogging outfit. The bangles jangling at her wrists gave away her athletic attire as a sham however.

"Go away Mom before you say something you'll regret." She scrambled for her thoughts. How dare her mother invade their private moment? She hadn't bothered to pay any attention to her for over week, why now?

"Sir I'm sorry Sir this is…" Garth cleared his throat. "Ah..Look, can you both just go outside and when we've ah, neatened up in here we can all sit down and discuss this like adults?" Garth's long arms kept moving as he was talking, retrieving clothes from around the mattress and setting them in her lap like some kind of nervous laundry octopus. Riley choked on the thought before she laughed out loud.

"I don't see that there is anything to discuss." Christine whirled in the Major. "Hector, this is an outrage! Your men apparently have no discipline. Unless he plans to marry her, I want him charged."

"Geez mom, it's not like I was virgin. Get over it." Her temper was threatening. She had managed not to fight back last night but there was no way she could tolerate her mother dragging Garth's reputation in the dirt. "This is none of your business."

For his part, at least Velasquez had the decency to shoot an apologetic look their way. "And what do you suppose I charge him with Christine? She's 17 and obviously consenting. "

Her mother sputtered. "Dishonorable behavior? I don't know!"

Velasquez shook his head. "They haven't done anything wrong as far as I can tell. Actually, I think we have by barging in to their private space. Come on." He tried to wrap an arm about her shoulders and shepherd her out but she was having none of it.

"No Hector! This isn't right. He's taking advantage of her. Can't you see.."

Impulsivity. Her father had always told her that it was her most troublesome trait, that one day she was going to get in trouble for saying something she couldn't take back. "Garth Einar Simpson, would you do me the honor of making an honest woman out of me?" She was so jittery that she almost didn't hear his reply. To be honest, she wasn't sure how he felt. They hadn't talked about feelings one bit. But she had spent all morning overwhelmed with feelings of trust and gratitude and certainty. And when his grin nearly blinded her, she figured that was as good as an answer.

"Why Riley Louis Slattery I think that would suit me just fine." He copied her over-formal tone. "Are you free tonight?"

Her answer was to pull the sheet over their heads so she could press her body back into his. A horrified gasp interrupted her attempt to capture his lips. "Go away mom, we're celebrating and you're not going to want to see this."

"What! Hector surely you can't allow this!" but their voices faded as the Major drew her mother out of the tent.

"You sure about this?" Garth nuzzled her neck as he asked, his hands already slipping over her skin.

"Mmmm. Don't think you're going to get out of it now. Haven't you heard about me? I'm known for my stubbornness."

Their tent was quiet for a long time. Not because he was backing out, but because his lips were too busy to answer her. Finally he pulled away. "Oh yeah? Well you just might have met your match in the stubborn-ness department."

She tugged his short hair to pull him toward her mouth. "I'm counting on it,"