Johnny was crammed right up against Roy, who had his back against the boulder. Roy breathed in short, harsh gasps, his elbows clutched to his chest with his knees drawn up.

Johnny tried to get his weight off of his partner, but there was nowhere for him to go. Roy wasn't fully conscious and didn't respond as Johnny quickly checked his legs for injury. Then he climbed between them, bracing his weight on his knees on either side of Roy's waist. Roy's gasping breaths eased a little, but were still loud and ragged. He tried to move Roy's arms, but the man just pulled into himself tighter and tried to push his hands away.

"Roy," Johnny said, pushing him upright by the shoulders. "Come on now, I need to get at you."

Roy choked on an agonized sob. Every bit of color drained from Johnny's face and he looked away for a second. He swallowed, then turned back and took hold of both of Roy's wrists. He tugged as gently as he could, but the arms wouldn't move. "Roy." His voice was unnaturally calm. "Come on, Roy."

Roy blinked slowly and became more aware of his surroundings. "What?"

"There we go," Johnny said. "I need you to relax, okay? I need to find out what's wrong."

"M-my chest..."

Johnny gave an experimental pull, but Roy still resisted. "I need you to move your arms, okay?"

"What?" Roy looked down at Johnny's hands, frowning.

"Let me move your arms," Johnny said, and took a slow breath. "I don't want to put any pressure on them."

Roy looked around and seemed to realize where he was. He nodded and made a visible effort to relax.

Johnny gently pried the wrists away from each other. Roy's breathing had slowed a little, but was still far too fast and shallow as Johnny untucked his shirt. Muck covered everything, making the lack of light even more of a problem.

Johnny popped open the glove box at his side. "Flashlight, flashlight," he muttered, frantically rummaging around inside before slapping it closed with a frustrated growl. He looked at the window to the bed of the truck where all the camping gear had been stowed, but saw only a wall of rocks piled up against the cracked glass.

He turned back to Roy, and took a steadying breath before working by touch alone. Roy tried to be still, but couldn't stop a cry of pain when careful fingers found a problem. His entire body reacted, doubling over into Johnny's chest as his knees tried to contract again. His hands clenched into fists from effort, but he managed to keep his arms out of the way. Johnny did not say a word when he was done with the brief exam. He let Roy rest for a second, then helped him sit up.

"That bad, huh?" Roy asked.

Johnny opened his mouth to answer, but snapped it closed when Roy shivered under his hands.

"No, no, no," Johnny whispered, quickly shrugging out of his jacket and twisting around to drape it over Roy's legs. Roy tried to help when Johnny lifted each of his arms in turn to remove his jacket also. "Just relax and let me do the work," Johnny said, but Roy had lapsed back into semi-consciousness.

Johnny struggled in the confined space to get behind Roy, pushing his partner forward a little so that he could squeeze between him and the rock. He pulled Roy back against his chest, then covered them both with the other jacket. Everything was wet and muddy, but it would help trap heat.

Roy became a little more alert when Johnny began briskly rubbing his upper arms under the jacket.

He started to protest, but Johnny cut him off. "You're starting to look a little shocky, and we can't let you go down that road, okay? There's nothing here that can help if you do. We'll get you warmed up and comfortable, and just stop it from happening."

"Too tired to argue," Roy muttered around his chattering teeth.

"Stay awake," Johnny ordered. "You have a concussion."

Roy sighed, but didn't argue. Johnny braced a hand on Roy's elbow to help him move a little and get their legs situated until they were both reasonably comfortable.

"You're a terrible pillow," Roy said as he leaned his head back against his partner's chest and shifted his shoulders a little. "On the bright side," he added, poking the jacket to point over his bent knees to his feet pressed against the passenger door, "at least the other end is tilted upwards."

"Things could be worse," Johnny agreed. "But I sure do hate not having any equipment. What I wouldn't give just for a blanket." He wrapped his fingers around one of Roy's wrists with one hand, and rested the other carefully on his chest. Roy tried to brush him off, but Johnny's grip tightened. "You have a concussion, busted ribs, and you're pretty banged up inside. If your pulse or respiration changes, even a little, I wanna know about it."

Roy's shivering contradicted his reassuring tone. "I'm okay."

"I know you're okay," Johnny said quickly. "Of course you're okay. We'll get out of this. I've got a date tomorrow night, and I can't miss that." Roy smiled at the bad joke, and didn't see Johnny smile at the smile.

They both jumped a little when the roof creaked. The glass of the sliding window behind the bench crunched with a popping sound, and the crack spread into a spiderweb. Grit hissed as it slid away from them, but the truck didn't move. Johnny's thumb moved absently over the inside of Roy's wrist, waiting for the pulse to calm.

"We could try to dig out," Johnny eventually suggested.

Roy looked up at the sliver of light. "I don't know how stable we are. We might just bury ourselves even worse if we try." He took a haggard breath and sighed. "You should have gotten out while you could."

"Could've been anyone trapped in here," Johnny answered, mildly offended. "I'd never abandon a patient."

"Too brave for your own good," Roy said very quietly.

"Nah," Johnny said. "Besides, you'd never leave a rescue either, and you know it." He waited a moment, but Roy didn't say anything. He lightly tapped his fingers on Roy's shoulder. "Stay awake. Keep talking."

"Hurts to talk," Roy said, then shivered.

Johnny smiled. "Well, good thing I've always been able to talk plenty for both of us." Roy gave a short bark of laughter that instantly turned into a gasp. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Roy said breathlessly. He flopped his hand against Johnny's arm in an uncoordinated gesture. "Humor is... good. Just took me... by surprise." His voice was quiet, once again not quite conscious. "You always do."

They both gave a shout as the truck suddenly moved, the front end jolting downward. It stopped again with a jarring thud. Rocks shifted and moved, finally stopping with a loud crack of splintering wood. Something metallic began creaking in a rhythmic pattern, like the ticking of a clock.

Roy turned onto his side as he curled up into himself nearly into a fetal position, panting through clenched teeth and clawing at the arm around his chest. Johnny snatched his hands back as though they were made of fire. He held them over empty space, not sure what to do with them that wouldn't cause pain as Roy buried his face in his shirt. Johnny was breathing almost as fast as Roy, a pace that bordered on panic.

Roy rolled half onto his back against Johnny's chest to favor the worst of his abused rib cage. He lay there for a few seconds, shaking and gasping. After a minute, his breathing was more under control. "I'm never – going fishing – again!"

A startled laugh burst out of Johnny, a brief sound that died the instant it was born as Roy shivered. Johnny slowly sat up a little, pausing to make sure the movement wasn't too fast. Roy frowned in confusion but didn't stop him. Johnny adjusted the jacket over their legs, tucking it in the edges. He leaned back against the rock, and did the same for the upper jacket. He settled his arms, bent at the elbow to rest his hands on his shoulders where they couldn't cause any more harm.

Roy made a peculiar noise, a frustrated snort interrupted by a shiver. "How can it be this damn cold in California?"

Several seconds passed, and then Johnny cleared his throat. His voice was thick and hoarse when he finally spoke. "It isn't."

Roy tilted his head to look up at his partner, but there was only shadow. "We're gonna be okay," he said, but there was no answer. The jacket slid off again as he searched for one of Johnny's arms, and tried to pull it across his chest. He hadn't got much accomplished before he had to stop and catch his breath with a strained wheeze. "You worry too much."

Johnny hesitated, then pulled his arm away to pick up the jacket and covered the two of them up again. He slipped both arms under the fabric and wrapped them carefully around Roy, then bent his knees on either side to cocoon him in as much warmth as humanly possible. Roy shivered, but let out a small, content sigh. Johnny curled his fingers around Roy's wrist again, and silently counted.

Johnny hugged his best friend a little tighter, and didn't try to stop him from falling asleep.