Hilde had slept fitfully for most of the night. She had started awake at every tiny sound, glancing around fearfully, expecting to find herself staring into the slathering jaws of a rabid, hungry predator. But nothing like that ever happened, and shortly before dawn, she finally fell into an exhausted, uneasy sleep.
Right around dawn she awoke again. She felt very warm and safe, for a change. She snuggled against the warm form lying next to her without thinking. The form mumbled sleepily and shifted slightly.
This caused Hilde to abruptly snap into alertness. What was she leaning against that was warm and moving?! She tried to sit up, but a weight seemed to be suspended against her torso. What on earth?!
As her eyes slowly adjusted to the gloom of early dawn in the cave, she was able to make out and recognize the form lying next to her. The first form to come into focus was a tangle of pale hair that looked almost white in the still-dark cave. The form shifted slightly, and she was able to make out a face. Quatre. Of course. She bit her lip, momentarily embarrassed. Who else would it be?
Quatre shifted again, and Hilde felt herself being drawn closer to him. That explained the heavy weight across her chest--Quatre had flung one arm over her during his sleep. He sighed softly, his breath ruffling her hair gently, before settling back into deeper sleep.
Hilde didn't dare move. A part of her wanted to pull away and run to the opposite side of the cave...but another part of her, one that was much more insistent, convinced her to stay put. He looks so tired, she rationalized. If I move, I'll wake him up. I don't want to do that. He's been through so much. We both have. It looks like he's finally getting some restful sleep. I'll feel like a heel if I disturb that!
Before she was allowed a chance to let Quatre sleep, however, his eyes fluttered open. He smiled lazily at her for a moment, then his eyes widened as he realized his proximity to her. He sat up and almost launched himself across the cave away from her.
"Oh my God, Hilde, I'm so sorry...you must think I'm a total cad..." He ran one hand through his hair nervously. "I'm so sorry, I don't know what I was doing...I...I..."
Hilde had to bite back a laugh. "Quatre, it's all right," she soothed. "Really," she said when he didn't relax. "If it had been an issue, I would've disentangled myself a lot sooner. Relax, all right?"
Quatre was quiet for a moment. When he finally looked up at her again, his voice was quiet. "Were you...were you thinking of pulling away?"
Hilde tried not to grimace. He would have to ask a question like that. "Well...I didn't want to wake you up..." She knew she'd said the wrong thing as soon as his face fell. "Besides," she said quickly, "I...kinda liked that. Nice and warm. And soothing. Very soothing." She relaxed as Quatre's features eased out, and he scooted back across the floor to sit next to her.
She drew her knees up to her chest and rested one cheek against her arms. "Don't feel bad. I think we both could use a little human comfort," she said, her voice muffled against her arms. "And I'm not mad." She gave him a little smirk. "So don't worry."
Quatre chuckled slightly, and reached up to stroke her cheek gently. But before things could go any farther, he pulled away, and looked out at the slowly gathering light outside. "Do you suppose we should get up and start planning where to go from here? Or should we try to get a little more sleep?"
Hilde sighed, her contentment forgotten. "Right," she said reluctantly, "we were going to leave today." She turned to follow his line of vision. "I don't think I could sleep any more if I wanted to," she admitted.
"Me neither," Quatre agreed. He stood up. "Well then, if you'll excuse me for a moment...there are some, err, businesses that must be attended to, before I can properly concentrate on formulating a plan to get us out of here." He started walking toward the entrance of the cave. "We'll discuss a plan of action when I get back, all right?" Hilde nodded, giggling slightly, before standing up herself to follow suit, going in the opposite direction from Quatre. Their worries would renew themselves soon enough.
Quatre sighed, and surveyed his surroundings for what seemed like the umpteenth time. "I just don't know," he muttered under his breath.
Hilde peered at him curiously. "Don't you know what direction to go?"
Quatre turned to face him, his expression showing a great deal more patience than he felt. "I'm not sure where we are," he explained. "I don't really know where to go from here, because I don't know where we are. If I knew where we were, I could pick a direction that we could set out from, but I don't. We're just going to have to guess."
Hilde folded her arms across her chest and rubbed her temple. Quatre looked at her, concerned. He knew she most likely needed medical attention. He only hoped that her injuries were not as bad as he feared they were.
Hilde finally sighed, and glanced at her watch. "Well, we figure we're somewhere north, right? Maybe if we walk south, we'll eventually hit civilization. Heaven knows we won't find it just sitting here." She looked up at the sky. "And since it's still early morning, it's safe to say that that--" She pointed in the direction of the recently risen sun. "--is east. So all we need to do is figure out where south is, and head in that direction, right?"
Quatre was uncertain. "I don't know about that, Hilde," he said hesitantly. "We don't know for certain where we are. We could be almost anywhere, really. What if we go south, and it turns out to be the wrong direction?"
Hilde gave him an exasperated look. "Well, what do you suggest?" she snapped with more irritation than she felt. "That we sit here and wait for someone to just drop in and rescue us?"
Quatre shut his mouth abruptly, shocked. Yet he knew she had a point. They just couldn't sit there and wait for someone to rescue them. He paused for a moment, then nodded. "You're right. South it is. If nothing else, we should hit a road or something before too long. There can't be that much wilderness to cover before we hit civilization."
Hilde nodded, glad to have reached a point of agreement with Quatre. "That's what I was thinking," she said thoughtfully. "So south would be..." She swiveled around, taking a moment to orient herself in position with the morning sun. "That way!"
Quatre nodded. "I'll go see if I can find a compass or something on the shuttle. It might help." He strode off toward the shuttle, leaving Hilde to wonder if her insistence on going south was such a good idea, after all. But the idea of being able to go home overrode her fear, and she turned back toward the cave.
Before they could set out, however, an unexpected problem presented itself.
Quatre had not been able to find a compass in the shuttle that he could pry out of the control panel and take with them, so he headed back to the cave to tell Hilde the news.
When he got there, Hilde was standing in the middle of the cave, hands on hips. She turned to face him when she heard him enter the cave.
"We're almost out of food," she said, indicating the duffel bag with the airline meals in them. "In fact, if we eat before we leave, that will clean us out of all food."
"Good," said Quatre. "That means one less thing to carry. In fact, you may want to consider leaving your luggage here."
"What?! I'm not leaving it here!"
Quatre sighed, trying not to show his worry for her well-being, lest she become angry. "Hilde, we don't know how far we have to walk. You're also injured. Do you really want to carry your suitcase the whole way?"
Hilde crossed her arms stubbornly across her chest. "I'll do what I must," she said, her voice not brooking argument. "If it becomes too much of a burden later on, then I'll get rid of it. But I'm not leaving it here!"
It occurred to Quatre that Hilde perhaps wanted to hold onto the one thing she had that represented civilization. It wasn't a bad idea. He nodded. "All right. If you want to bring your luggage, I won't stop you. I'll probably bring mine, too."
Hilde visually relaxed. She turned to face the entrance to the cave, and froze. "Quatre!" she hissed, a note of panicked fear in her voice. "Look!"
Quatre turned to follow her line of vision. A rather large bear was nosing around near the downed shuttle. It snuffled around the remains of their campfire from earlier, snorting as it inhaled ash. It raised its head, scenting the air.
Hilde was frozen in place with terror. Her mouth worked, but no sound came out. Quatre's mind worked frantically. What was it you were supposed to do when a bear was nearby? Was it play dead or make lots of noise? On impulse, Quatre began shouting and waving his arms.
"Hey! Heyyyy!"
The cave picked up his voice and magnified it, reverberating against the stone walls. The bear's head jerked up. Hilde stared at Quatre in open-mouthed shock. "What are you doing?! Do you want that thing to find us?" Her voice, a high, panicked screech, was added to the cacophony. Quatre kept yelling.
The bear paused for a second, confused, then turned tail and gallumphed into the woods and disappeared.
Quatre heaved a sigh of relief. "Whew. That must've been a young bear. I didn't know if that would work." But Hilde would not be so easily calmed.
"We've got to get out of here, now," she said, grabbing her possessions and stuffing them into her suitcase. "What if that bear comes back? I don't want to be here for that. Let's get out of here!"
Quatre didn't argue with her. Silently, he picked up his own suitcase. "Do you remember which direction is south?"
"I don't care, as long as we get away from here!"
"But Hilde, don't you think we should--" He stopped when he saw the look on her face. It was a careful blend of impatience, anger, and sheer panic.
"Quatre, I don't know how you managed to chase that bear away, and don't think for a moment that I'm not grateful. But it's not going to stay gone forever, and I'd rather not be cornered in this cave when it does come back!"
"I just don't know...."
In the end, Quatre managed to convince Hilde to calm down long enough to make a rough estimate of what direction they should travel. As they set out in the direction he had chosen, Hilde most definitely in the lead, Quatre couldn't help but glance back at the campsite and the crashed shuttle, and wondered not for the first time if this was the best idea.
Quatre was growing increasingly nervous. The day was getting later and later, and still they had not seen any sign of civilization. They hadn't even seen a rarely-used dirt track or a hiking trail. The only signs of life had been the sounds of small animals scuttling away through the underbrush as they approached. At least they hadn't come across any large predators. He hadn't seen any bears since that morning at the campsite, either.
But the sun was beginning to set. Already it had begun to bank behind the trees, casting a rough reddish glow through the forest and setting the underbrush ablaze in ruddy light. Quatre glanced around. There wasn't anything anywhere that would've constituted a good place to sleep for the night. He had nothing against sleeping under the stars, but he knew Hilde would not brook with that.
Hilde. He glanced over at her. She was still walking on resolutely, but he could see fatigue etched into her delicate features. Her face was pinched, and a great deal more pale than it had been when they had left camp that morning. Her forehead was beaded with perspiration. She looked so tired. He hoped that this walking wasn't aggravating her injuries. He'd never forgive himself, if all this walking were to make things worse.
Hilde chose that moment to look up, and smiled wanly at Quatre. Caught surprised, Quatre could only smile back. Even tired, pale and sweating, she was still the most beautiful woman Quatre had ever seen.
Quatre decided to stop for a brief rest. Hilde chose the moment to slump to the ground wearily. She gave Quatre another weak smile as he handed her their makeshift canteen, which consisted of a rather battered water bottle found on board the shuttle. "We'll stop for the night soon," he assured her. "We can set up camp, and rest for a while. It can't be too much farther."
Hilde looked around. "Where?" she asked blandly. "Where are we going to stay? You're not suggesting we sleep out in the open, are you?"
Quatre was silent. He looked away, pretending to scan the area for the barest hint of civilization, but could hear Hilde setting up to start yelling, judging by the deep intake of air. Before she could say a word, he suddenly stopped short.
"Wait a minute. What's that?" He peered through the trees. "There's something just over the next rise, and it's not a rock or a cave." He started striding purposefully off in that direction. If he'd seen what he thought he'd just seen....
"Quatre, wait up!" Hilde's voice sounded impatiently behind him as she forgot about complaining, jumped to her feet and struggled to catch up with him. "What did you see? Where are you going?"
Quatre didn't stop until he'd crested the rise. He let out the breath he'd been holding in anticipation, and felt a great deal of the tension ease out of his shoulders.
There, down in a slight natural depression, hidden away in the middle of the forest, was a cabin.
Hilde puffed up the hill to stand next to him. "Quatre, why did you take off like that? What did you see? I don't--" She broke off abruptly as she spied the cabin. "Quatre! It's a cabin! We're saved!" She dropped her suitcase and hugged him impulsively. "And if someone is there, maybe they can help us find our way back to civilization!"
"I don't know, Hilde," he said hesitantly. "It doesn't look as though anyone is home." Indeed, the windows of the little cabin were all dark, and it looked as though no one had been there for quite some time. "But in any event, I think that at least we'll have somewhere warm and dry to stay tonight."
They walked down the hill to the cabin, and tested the door. It swung open freely, unlocked. "Well, I suppose that out here, no one would think to lock their doors," said Hilde cheerily, her mood greatly improved from finding the cabin. "I'm sure they think that no one knows about this place!"
The cabin was very small, only consisting of one large room. There was a bed against the wall on one side of the room, and a small stove and cupboard on the other end, with a basin for washing up, though there was no faucet attached to it. A fireplace occupied the spot directly across from the door, with firewood stacked neatly in a crate next to it. An old-looking sofa sat in front of the fireplace. Near the stove there was a small, rickety table with a few chairs.
The cabin looked as though it had seen better days, but to Quatre and Hilde, it was paradise. Hilde strode through the front door, glancing here and there, picking things up and examining things.
"Hilde, I don't know about this," started Quatre hesitantly. "The owners of this cabin could come back any minute--"
"Quatre, I don't think we have to worry about that," she called from somewhere near the stove. "It doesn't look like anyone has been here in a long time." Indeed, a thick layer of dust covered almost every surface, even the floor.
Hilde turned to face the cupboard, and pulled open the doors. Inside she found a small set of mismatched dishes, a few cooking utensils, and--best of all--canned food. Even Quatre was happy to see something that didn't constitute airline food.
The new surroundings seemed to revive Hilde. "I think I can make something with what's here," she said, pulling cans out of the cupboard. "It'll be nice to have something other than airline food!" She glanced around the small makeshift kitchen. "Quatre, there's a bucket next to that basin. I'll bet there's a water pump or something nearby. Could you go look, please?"
Quatre was happy to help. Sure enough, he found a water pump behind the cabin. It had been obscured from view when they had first spied the place. After expending a great deal of effort in priming the pump- -which made it even more obvious that nno one had been at the cabin in quite some time--Quatre brought the bucket of water back into the cabin.
Hilde was bustling about the tiny kitchen, and humming slightly. The new surroundings seemed to have revived her a great deal. She was still slightly disheveled, and a good deal more pale than he would've normally liked, but the improvement in her mood made a world of difference.
Quatre set the bucket of water down next to the sink, and turned to watch Hilde silently for a moment. At that point in time, with shelter over their heads and a supply of food to eat, Quatre didn't care much if they never were found.
Dinner was finished, and Quatre had lit a fire in the fireplace. Hilde felt better than she had in a very long time, despite the fact that her head still hurt from time to time. She snuggled into the old couch which, after a thorough dusting, was actually quite comfortable. Quatre sat down next to her.
For a time, they enjoyed a comfortable silence, both of them watching the flames idly while their minds wandered. Then, Hilde finally decided to break the quiet.
"What's the first thing you're going to do when we get out of here?" It was not a matter of ifs. To Hilde, having found the cabin had made a world of difference. To her, they were already found.
Quatre chuckled slightly. "Hilde, we're a long way from civilization, I'm sure." But he didn't deny that he, too, felt as though they were already found. It was a much more pleasant thought process than believing they would be lost forever.
Hilde shrugged slightly. "I know," she said, almost matter-of- factly. "But if we've come this far, I don't think we'll be lost forever. After all, even if we stay here for a while, someone is bound to find us. A deserted cabin wouldn't be stocked with food."
Quatre had to admit that she had a point. He fell silent, wondering about the owners of the cabin, and what they would think if they found the two of them there.
Hilde's voice cut through his reverie. "So what's the first thing you're going to do?" She heaved a long, slow sigh. "I'm going to take a bath. A long, hot bath. I feel like I haven't bathed in weeks."
Quatre chuckled. "I know the feeling," he said ruefully. "I'll probably do the same thing. Then I'll go to work and see how things have fared in my absence."
Hilde laughed at this. "I thought you took this vacation to get away from work!" she giggled.
"Yes, I suppose I did. But I hardly call this a vacation, would you?"
Hilde giggled softly. "No, not really, I suppose," she said. She was silent for a moment, and Quatre thought that she might have drifted off to sleep. But then she spoke again.
"I wonder...I wonder if the children made it to land safely. I wonder if they're all right."
Quatre looked at her. Deciding to take a risk, he surreptitiously slipped his arm around Hilde's shoulder. Much to his relief and delight, instead of pulling away from him, she snuggled against his shoulder.
"I think they're all right," he said after a moment. "After all, the staff that helped them into their escape pods knew what they were doing. I'm sure the kids landed safely, and they're all just fine."
Hilde nodded against his shoulder, but said nothing. For a moment, silence descended upon them, and all that could be heard was the crackling of the fire. It wasn't until Quatre had yawned three times, in huge yawns that threatened to split his face in two, that he realized it was probably time to get some sleep.
He nudged Hilde gently. She murmured sleepily and looked up at him. "I think we should get some sleep now, don't you?" he asked gently. "You can take the bed. I'll be fine sleeping on the couch."
That woke her up immediately. She blinked at him, her expression suspicious. "Why should I have to take the bed?" she asked. "I'm quite happy sleeping on the couch. There's a pillow and a blanket here, and besides, I'm shorter than you are. I'll be more comfortable on the couch."
Quatre shook his head. "I can sleep on the couch just fine," he said rationally. "Besides, you're injured. You should sleep in the bed."
Hilde bristled at the comment. "I'm not going to shatter into a million pieces if I have to sleep on the couch, Quatre!" she said angrily. "I've slept on a hard cave floor for the past few nights. Compared to that, even the couch will be a luxury! You take the bed. There's no good reason for me to take it!"
Quatre just frowned at her, not sure how to rebut her argument. Hilde frowned right back, not willing to back down.
A thought occurred to her suddenly, and she wrestled with it for a moment, not sure if it was a good idea. But finally, her ire got the better of her.
"I have an idea, Quatre. Why don't we both sleep in the bed, together? There's no reason why we can't do that. There's plenty of room for both of us. That way, neither of us have to sleep on the couch!"
Quatre stared at her, trying hard to bite back his shock. Although a part of him screamed at himself to take the offer, another part told him it was wrong....
"Hilde! What are you...do you mean that we should...I just don't think...what I mean is...."
Hilde gave him a withering expression. "I meant we share the bed for sleeping, not for fornication," she said, flushing slightly. "I'm just trying to be practical, that's all!"
Quatre searched frantically for the right words, but couldn't find them. His mouth worked silently. Hilde finally sighed, and stood up.
"Fine. Fine. I'll take the bed. I'm sorry I even brought it up." She walked over to the bed, pulling the covers back with an angry jerk.
Quatre felt horrible. "Hilde...I'm sorry..." His voice trailed off.
Hilde sat down on the bed, swinging her legs up onto the mattress. "Forget about it, Quatre," she said tiredly. "Just get some sleep." She rolled over to face the wall, pulling the blanket up to her shoulders.
Quatre took the blanket, which had been laid over the back of the couch for whoever slept there, and stretched out on the couch, throwing the blanket over his form. He stared at the fire, mentally berating himself for his foolishness. It was a long time after the last embers had cooled before he finally fell asleep.
Hilde awoke the next morning slowly to the scent of cooking food. She felt very groggy, and was momentarily confused. Where was she?
She rolled over and sat up, staring across the cabin. Quatre's back faced her. He was standing at the stove, stirring at something and humming cheerfully. Hilde swallowed past a lump in her throat. She had acted horribly last night. She would have to apologize before anything else.
Before she could decide what to say, Quatre turned around and noticed that she was awake. "Good morning!" he said cheerfully. He was holding a saucepan. "Breakfast is almost ready. It's canned soup, I'm afraid, but it's better than nothing." He turned back to the stove, setting the pan back on the burner and stirring it some more.
Hilde stood up and walked over to Quatre. "Quatre...about last night..." she started hesitantly.
Quatre turned to face her. "It's in the past, Hilde," he said softly. "I should not have acted the way I did. You were only trying to be sensible, and I misconstrued it. I apologize."
Hilde blinked, surprised, then remembered herself. "I'm sorry for losing my temper," she said. "It was out of line. I'm sorry."
Quatre smiled at her, and set down the spoon he was using to stir the soup. "Friends?" he asked, holding out his hand. Hilde took it warmly. "Friends," she said, relieved. But instead of shaking hands, Quatre brought her knuckles to his lips, kissing her hand softly. Hilde giggled and blushed, not certain of what to think, but flattered all the same.
Quatre released her hand and turned back to the stove. "Breakfast will be ready in just a minute," he said, turning to get two bowls from the cupboard.
"That's fine. I have to step out for a second, anyway. Call of nature and all." She turned and walked to the door, opening it to step outside. She made it one step out the door, and froze.
Quatre looked up from pouring the soup into the bowls when Hilde slammed the door behind her. She was leaning up against it, and white as a sheet. Quatre frowned, and set down the saucepan. "Hilde, what's wrong"
Hilde's mouth worked silently, but no words came out. Her eyes were panicked, and she gestured over her shoulder that there was something outside. Quatre crossed the room rapidly, and peered out one of the windows.
A bear was standing outside the cabin, not 30 feet away from the front door. It had been startled by the sound of the door slamming, and was standing on its hind legs, peering at the cabin suspiciously. The bear was much larger than the one that Quatre had chased away from the crash site the day before, and something told him that trying to chase this bear away with loud noises would not work.
"What are we going to do?!" hissed Hilde, her voice shrill with panic. Quatre shook his head, not knowing what to do himself. Hilde was not reassured by his reaction, and clenched her fists, trying to hold herself back from hysterics.
"Quatre...we're trapped!"