Arctic Wonderland

Chapter 9

Author's Note:

I apologize to all who follow this story, I have been dealing with some terrible stuff and I haven't had the desire to continue with anything at all. It wasn't until I realized that me not returning to finish this at all would have been unkind, unfair, and unjust to you, my dear readers, to these characters, and this wonderful show. I was and still am trying to return but it's a slow process and I apologize beforehand for any discomfort that I cause because of it. I will try to be more regular. Though this is the second to last chapter in this story, i will be continuing it as a series. Thank you for those that take time off of their busy schedule to read and/or review this story. Please have patience with me and I apologize to those stories that i was following and reviewing, I haven't had the desire to continue and that included reading. I will try to catch up on all I missed, but to give you a number of influx stories that I have to read so that you can have an estimate of how behind I am, that number is 1064. That number is the amount of stuff that i have missed and have to catch up on. Please have patience with me, I'm am trying my hardest, but on most days, it's never enough.

Chapter 9

Jane woke up to Lisbon shivering in her sleep on his lap. He looked at her, examining all of her features and committing them to memory. It's not like he had to do much. He had memorized each and every detail of her face before he even realized how he felt about her. He knew he cared about her, he cared on the first day they met, but it took him a long while to realize he was irrevocably in love with her. During the long two years that they were apart, he felt his heart shatter with each long day he couldn't see her brilliant smile, or her sparkling eyes, or her endearing freckles.

A small thought entered his mind as he pulled her closer and glanced at the thermometer on the wall. He softly gathered her up in his arms and made his way down into the living room. He laid her down on the sofa and grabbing a blanket or two for warmth, he took hold of a couple of logs of fire and placed them with the pile in the chimney. He walked into the singed kitchen and rummaged through the drawers to try to find something to light the fire with. After looking through about 14 drawers, he finally found a box of matches, but when he opened it, the matchsticks were all bent and many on them were unusable, the phosphorous spent. He silently cursed the previous vacationers that had used the matches and stuck them back into the box instead of throwing it into the fire or in the trash. He set the box aside, intent on purchasing a new box for this house once they get out. He smiled at that thought. They WERE going to get out. Even if they had to jump out of the second story window, but he was going to see that they both got out alive.

He continued his search and smiled as he found a lighter. He walked back to the logs, his breath coming out in small puffs and he watched them crystallize in front of him. He rubbed his hands together to bring a bit more heat to his stiff cold hands before he opened the lighter and flicked it on. Click. Nothing. He sighed and tried it a couple of more times before he gave up. He slipped his thumb nail beneath the little metallic head and popped it off to check the levels of lighter fluid. His brow furrowed as he noticed that it was almost completely full, it needed no refill as of yet. He sighed as he realized that the cold from outside was turning the blaze off before it reached a point where he could see it. He walked upstairs and rummaged through the bathroom before finding a canister of hairspray. He hoped his idea would work as he walked back down shaking the can. He sat back in front of the fireplace and positioned the lighter in front of the nozzle. He clicked the lighter and pressed the nozzle at the same time. Whoosh! The flame shot out of the lighter, flying towards the logs, lighting them. Jane dropped the lighter, wincing, holding his hand at his chest as he examined the burn left behind by the burst of fire. He watched as the flame crackled before shrinking. He picked up the can with his good hand and sprayed at the fire, making it rise and fill the room with a bit of warmth. He smiled before joining Lisbon on the couch, pulling her close into his arms.

She stirred softly, snuggling closer to his warmth. When her eyes fluttered open, she smiled at him softly.

"Morning," he told her with a smile.

"Good morning."

He pulled her closer when a small gust of wind passed through his veins, and Lisbon hugged him tight.

Jane kissed her head softly as he held her, rubbing her arms and back to keep her warm. He kept his eyes on the fire as he watched it dance with each breeze. His hand continued to sting, but he ignored it, focusing instead on how to survive until Abbott rescued them. He wanted that phone to ring with news that Abbott and the team was right outside of the cabin and that they were working on getting them out. He knew that Abbott was doing everything he could, but even then, it would never be much if Lisbon and he didn't make it. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice the slight change in lighting and the gust of wind that blew out the fire. He didn't hear the soft, faint whirs of machines as a snowmobile moved around the cabin. It was Lisbon, moving out of his arms that brought his attention back to the present. He looked at her confused, before he processed what was going on around him and he stood with a small smile on his face.

Lisbon stood as well, hugging him, before she stepped away, wrapping herself in the blankets to keep her body temperature elevated. They saw more light filling the room as more and more snow was removed from the pathway and windows. More sound filled the room from outside, and they heard the distinct voice of Abbott and the hums of machinery and life. It wasn't until Abbott busted down the door and entered, followed by half a dozen armed police that they released a sigh of relief. The smiled at Abbott as he pulled down the hood of his parka and he gave them a warm smile before getting the group with him to surround Jane and Lisbon to lead them out to the ambulance.

Jane smiled at Lisbon as he sat across from her while the EMTs examined them. They wrapped a bandage around his burnt hand and gave them both some more blankets to keep their temperature down. Lisbon smiled back at him, and when the Emergency Team left to go relay the medical information to Abbott, she took his good hand and whispered, "We made it."

He smiled back, drawing soft circles on the back of her hand with his thumb as he replied, "Yes. We did. We always do."