R.I.P My Miami Love (CSI: Miami FanFic)

Falling Away From Me

Chapter 16

The Everglades

The fire crackled loudly around the two as Ryan lied in the grass with Bridget resting in his arms, barley conscious. The only thing he could see as he scanned the area around them was burnt vegetation and fire. There were only small gaps in the fire that became smaller as the fire spread over the thick grass and trees. Unknown to them, gasoline from the container was leaking out onto the ground behind them.

Ryan suddenly had a thought. Maybe Jake has something in that bag. He turned around and grabbed the bag, hoping to find some helpful supplies. The gas container fell out and the rest of the gasoline poured onto the ground. Ryan jumped up, with Bridget in his arms and the backpack in his hand, and backed away from the gasoline. Bridget tried to mumble something but Ryan couldn't make it out.

"It's okay, baby. We're okay." He assured her.

As soon as he told her that, a stray spark flew through the air and Ryan knew what might happen. He began to run. As he ran the fire ignited behind him.

After getting a safe distance from the fire Ryan sat Bridget on the ground ever so gently and opened up the bag.

"Ryan?" She mumbled.

"I'm right here. I'm not leaving you. I just need to see if there's anything in here that can help you." He told her.

Using all her strength Bridget lifted herself from the ground. She was sick and tired of feeling weak. She needed to be strong. Bridget looked around at the surrounding fire. It seemed endless. Suddenly pain shot from her upper chest. She pulled her shirt down enough to see the bloody half heart carved into her chest. A tear ran down her face. She had a possibly permanent reminder of the hole ordeal in plain sight. She pulled her legs close to her chest and allowed a few more tears to fall then quickly wiped them away.

Ryan rummaged through the bag, not noticing Bridget had sat up. He pulled out a bottle of water, a wash rag and a flashlight from the backpack then looked up to see Bridget examining the cut on her upper chest. He put the flashlight in his pocket and sat the other things beside him and moved over closer to Bridget and wrapped her in a hug.

"I love you so much." Ryan whispered into her ear. Bridget smiled into his chest and looked up at him. "I'm so sorry I let this happen to you." His coughing interrupted his sentence. Bridget looked up at Ryan with a confused look.

"Non of this is your fault. You couldn't have prevented this. No one could have." Bridget assured him. Not wanting to argue, Ryan scooped Bridget into his lap and held on tightly to her.

She ran her fingers over his head wound. Ryan quickly turned his head, not wanting her to feel pity for him.

"Here, you need to drink some." He handed her the water bottle.

Bridget took the bottle and sipped it, savoring the feeling of water filling her mouth. After drinking some of the water she studied Ryan for a second, noticing the sever coughing she handed the water to him.

"You need it more then I do." He coughed out.

She continued to hold out the water. Ryan smiled and took it from her hand, knowing she would put it down until he took it. He took a few drinks then picked up the wash rag from the ground and poured just enough water on it to dampen it. He then gently wiped the blood away from around Bridget's head. She flinched at the pain, causing Ryan to pull back. Bridget very gently put brought her hand to Ryan's and dabbed it around the wound. She then guided his hand to the half heart and did the same. When most of the blood was gone Ryan put the wash rag down. Where the hell is that helicopter? Ryan thought as he looked around at the fire. It seemed to be closing in on them faster and faster. He pulled out his radio and tried to contact Horatio.

"Horatio, where are you with the helicopter?" Ryan asked but there was no answer. There was complete radio silence. Only static played from the radio.

"What's wrong?" Bridget asked.

"The radio isn't working." Ryan said. He hit the top of the radio hoping it would magically start working. He then noticed a red light flashing on top of the radio. "Great, the batteries died."

Horatio's location

"What do you mean, you can't send the helicopter?" Horatio asked holding the radio to his ear.

"The fires to large. I can't send my helicopter into that much heat." The pilots voice came through the radio. "I wouldn't advise going by foot either. The high heat could burt your skin off."

Ryan & Bridget's location

The two were burning up. It was nearly unbearable. Despite that the two were still close together, not wanting to be apart again. They continually lost fluids from sweeting. They didn't have enough water to last them very long. They had to get out of this place because the fire was not calming down at all and the helicopter was nowhere in sight.

"Can you walk?" Ryan asked.

"Umm I think so. Yeah." Bridget began to slowly stand up.

Ryan quickly stood up to assist her. Placing a hand on her back in case she fell. Thankfully she stood up straight and turned to Ryan. She bottled up the pain in side. What she didn't know was that Ryan was too.

"Come on let's try and get away from these flames." Ryan threw the backpack over one shoulder and began to walk to a clear path. Bridget followed close behind him, soon grabbing on to the back of his shirt, not wanting to lose him.

The smoke became thicker and thicker as they continued to walk. Soon they both had their shirts pulled up over half of their face. That barely helped filter out any of the smoke, but it was better then nothing. Bridget still had a tight grip on Ryan's shirt as they dogged flames and hot ash fling through the air.

"Ryan!" Bridget yelled and pulled him backwards as a flaming tree crashed where Ryan was once standing.

They stared at each other for a moment they continued walking. Bridget had moved beside Ryan and wrapped an arm around his waist. She was beginning to feel weak again and was trying to use him as support with out him noticing.

"How much water do we have?" Bridget asked in between coughs.

Ryan didn't want to say it so he just held up the empty bottle. Bridget responded with a sigh and stared at the burnt ground. They both were thinking the same thing but didn't want to say it. They knew that this much fire and no water would surley lead to death.

"Hey, do you see that?" Ryan asked.

"See what?" Bridget squinted her eyes in the direction Ryan was pointing.

"That! There's water!" He said with glee. "Come on!" He began to walk faster in the direction of the stream. Bridget could barely keep up.

When they made it over to the stream even better news came with it. A yard past the stream had no fire around it. They stared at the fireless clearing with smiles that kept growing.

"We're going to make it." Bridget smiled and walked into the warm water.

Ryan scanned the water and quickly pulled Bridget out. A crocodile lied just above the water, almost undetectable. Bridget looked at Ryan, confused, then she looked into the water where he was still staring and saw the crocodiles eyes shine.

"What do we do?" Bridget asked, not taking her eyes of the crocodile.

"W-We have to go through the water." Ryan hesitantly said. They both stared at each other. Neither of them had a better answer. The rest of the water bank was covered with fire and who knows when they would find another clearing.

"Okay," Was all she said. They both stood up, hand and hand, and took a deep breath. "Promise me you won't let go." She whispered, and grasped his hand tightly.

"Not on my life." He briefly smiled and tightened his grip as well. "Don't take your eyes off me." Ryan instructed as they walked into the water. Bridget nodded her head and stared into his sparkling hazel green eyes. Ryan looked over her shoulder and watched the crocodile as it took interest in the two. He quickly looked at Bridget and forced a fake smile as he brought his free hand to his gun. She smiled back as she felt the warm, almost hot, water passing her waist. They were half way to the other side when the crocodile started to move closer. Only Ryan noticed it but said nothing. He only smiled and told Bridget "Where almost there." Or "Your doing great." Just as the crocodile went under the water they reached the bank. They both smiled and hugged when they finally made it to the bank.

"We're almost through with all of this." Ryan told her as they stood only a yard away from the clearing.

That wasn't fully true. Bridget knew it. She knew deep down she would relive this to many times. They would have to fill out police reports and retell the hole thing but that wouldn't be the end of it. She would have nightmare upon nightmare. But she continued to smile for Ryan's sake.

They walked into the clearing, still holding on to each others hand. As they got farther from the fire they walked into the tall, untouched grass that went up past their ankles. As they walked farther from the fire Bridget could feel the cool mud cover her bare feet. Bridget felt relieved by the cool mud. Bridget's head snapped up from looking at her feet in the mud. She pulled out her phone and saw how water logged it was.

"Shit! My phone is full of water!" She exclaimed. "I'm sorry. I just ruined what might have been our only change of getting out of here." She said and looked back down at her feet, but this time with sorrow.

"It's okay. It's not your fault." He told her, "You just forgot." Ryan told Bridget and wrapped an arm around her.

There was a long silence between the two. Until Bridget said what they where both thinking.

"How are we going to get back?" Bridget asked.

"We'll figure out something." Ryan smiled.

Well they had made it this far, who says they can't make it just a little farther. Or so they hoped it would only be a little farther.



They continued walking until they came upon something that froze them in their tracks. A Florida Panthers eyes glowed in the darkness. It stood only three meters ahead of Ryan and Bridget. Ryan slowly moved himself in front of Bridget as the panther growled and hissed.

They were both trying to come up with a plan. So far all Ryan was thinking was: Protect Bridget no matter what. Bridget was thinking of a more elaborate plan. She looked at her surroundings: Trees and bushes, not much else.

The panther was done analyzing its chance of killing them. Pulled its body back, ready to strike. But before it could lunge at them Bridget pulled out the flashlight from Ryan's back pocket and shined it into the large cats eyes. It stopped in its tracks, temporarily blinding it. While the cat was blind Bridget grabbed a branch and swung into the tree beside her.

"Ryan!" She called for him.

He quickly looked to the tree beside him and up to Bridget. He was confused for a second. Then he tried getting up the tree. He failed and the cat was quickly regaining its vision.

"Grab my hand!" Bridget sounded frantic as he stared at the panther that was coming their way

Ryan grabbed her hand and she leaned back onto the tree and placed her foot on a vertical branch to help. Adrenaline was pumping through her and Ryan's blood and that was a big help. She pulled him just high enough to where he could grad a higher branch and pull himself the rest of the way.

They both began to climb higher as the panther swatted at their feet. Bridget stopped herself at twelve branches up. Ryan was only on the sixth branch by that time. Once Ryan was two branches below Bridget the panther seemed to have lost interest in the two and slinked away. Ryan looked up at Bridget to see her laying on a thick branch with one had on her pumping stomach and the other hanging off the side. She was right there but it was like she was on a different planet. She stared at the stars, trying to forget her problems for a few seconds.

"Where'd you learn to climb like that?" Ryan wandered as he tried to relax himself on the trunk of the tree.

She didn't respond at first.

"Hu? Oh yeah. Umm its just a thing I learned pretty well when I was younger." She gave him the simplest answer she could think of.

Ryan knew there was more to it and he wasn't sure if he should leave it alone.

So he decided to try and lighten the mood. "What? Were you a professional squirrel?" He slightly laughed and smiled, highlighting the joke.

She turned herself around and smiled at him, "Little more complicated then that." She accidentally said aloud. She scolded herself on the inside. Why does she keep telling him what she's thinking, right when she thinks it? He doesn't need to know her past! No one but Horatio needs to know!

"What do you mean?" He was becoming increasingly curious.

"Nothing. I shouldn't have said that. It's not important." She shook her head and climbed up another branch. Don't get her wrong she wanted to be closer to Ryan but her instinct of not letting anyone in her personal life overwhelmed her.

Ryan paused not knowing how to take that.

He began climbing to her level and started with, "Anything you say is important to me." He was telling the truth but she wasn't willing to talk. "You know you can tell me anything, right?" He sat beside her and intwined their fingers.

The only thing that came close to an answer was her leaning on his shoulder as the two silently stared off into the night sky. This was the most peaceful moment the two have had all night and neither of them wanted to end it. They both knew they had to but not yet. Not right now. Not when both of them feel so happy and in love. They stayed in the tree, undisturbed. That is until they heard a mysterious sound come from the bushes. In that instant Bridget's head shot up and Ryan reached for his gun. But it wasn't there.

"What was that?" Bridget asked trying to hide the fear. Could it be Jake? Could he have lived through that?

"Probably just an animal." He quickly answered. "I'll be right back." He said as he started climbing down the tree.

"Where are you going?"

"I dropped my gun. I have to get it." He told her as he continued to climb down the tree.

Not knowing what to say Bridget furrowed her brow in an attempt to make him stay. "Wait," Before he got three branches down she came up with something they would prevent him from going out of the tree. "I can climb much faster then you and I get back up the tree even faster. I'll go down and get the gun." Before Ryan could protest she was already past half way down the tree. She didn't mind that the bark was scrapping into her feet and hands as long as she got out of the tree, fast. She hung on to a low branch, her feet dangling on the air as she checked her surroundings. She let go with one hand still tight on the branch as she grabbed the flashlight from her pocket and shined it around. Once she was pretty sure there was nothing around her she dropped three feet. She bent her legs to braise herself and had one hand on the ground in front of her to keep her balance. Her pose was like one of cat woman. Her feet engulfed in dewy grass as soon as she hit the ground. A chill went up her spine as the cool water droplets entered the fresh cuts on her feet. Bridget briefly looked up to see Ryan staring at her in pure shock, as if she had done the most amazing thing in the world. She smiled and returned to her search for the gun. She pointed her flashlight at the large paw print the panther had left and a few feet in front of it lied Ryan's gun. She grabbed the gun by the muzzle with three fingers and dangled it for Ryan to see.

"Lose something?" She tried to lighten the mood with some humor and a smile. "Am I coming back up or are you coming down?" Bridget started to think about moving forward, soon. Maybe soon should be now.

"What do you think?" Ryan didn't care as long as he was with her.

"Come on. I'll wait for you."

Ryan climbed down from the tree and stood by Bridget's side. He was ready to follow her anywhere.

"Don't happen to have a map, do you?" Bridget rhetorically asked. Ryan took the question seriously and pulled out the back pack he had taken from Jakes dead body.

Ryan pulled out a folded up paper, hoping it would be a map. Once it was unfolded Bridget shined the light one it. To both their surprise the map was hand drawn. It even had it own key in the top right hand corner.

Key: • =home sweet home, ~ =water, ----- =boundary line to limits, / =animal traps, X =Risks, don't go

At the bottom left corner was a measure.

|------------------| =one mile

The map had drawings of trees on it. In some places they were in larger numbers and were more packed together in other places the trees were more spaced out. Only a few places were completely clear of the tree symbols. There were many / symbols that meant traps around the ~ symbols that meant water. He was smart. He knew where the animals would be easiest to capture. Bridget counted five X's. She wondered why he didn't want to go around those specific places. What made them so bad?

Ryan sat the backpack on the ground then sat the hand drawn map on top of it. Bridget continued to hold the flashlight as they both studied the map. "If this map is correct we're right...," he continued to measure out the distance with two fingers, "about...here." He pointed his finger in between two water source symbols. "This must be where we came through. So if we continue this way we should hit water and the boundary line in no time."

"We'll also hit an X." She pointed out, estimating it to be about a mile and a half from the water source. "I wonder what the X's are." Bridget thought aloud.

"Could be tons of things." Ryan said and shrugged his shoulders. He stood up, folded the map up, put it in his pocket, and flung the backpack over his shoulder. "You ready?"

Bridget nodded and intertwined their fingers before taking off. The stream would be about a twenty minute walk.

After twenty to twenty-five minutes they made it to the large stream. It was longer across then the last one and seemed to be deeper.

"Let's take a break." Bridget suggested. She pulled out her phone and examined it. "My phones dry!"

"Can you get signal?" Ryan asked, excited by the news.

"Not down here." She said as she looked for a tree that could be easily climbed. When she found a good one she scaled to the top with ease. She stopped on a thick branch and pulled out her phone. There still wasn't a signal. So Bridget walked out to almost the edge of the branch.

"Be carful." Ryan called to her.

She pulled out her phone. Almost full bars. Bridget quickly scrolled down her contact list. She knew Horatio wouldn't get a signal to she called Walter, hopping he was at the lab. The phone ringed...and ringed...and ringed.

"CSI Simons." Walter finally answered.

"Oh thank God!" Bridget exclaimed.

"Bridget?! Is that you?!" Walter asked. "Am I glad to hear you!"

Bridget laughed. "Can you radio Horatio our location?"

"Yeah, sure. Where are you?" You could easily tell he was smiling on the other end of the line.

"Ryan, what's are location?" Bridget yelled down.

"Wolfe's with you?"

"Yeah. He found me awhile ago." She said and smiled.

"About eight miles, east of the cabin." Ryan yelled.

"You get that?"

"Eight miles east. Help will be there in no time." Walter assured.

"We're right by a hug stream of water so we shouldn't be to hard to find." She added. "And thanks Walter. Hope I see you soon."

"Same here." He said before Bridget hung up.

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So there are probably only going to be a couple more chapters and they might be pretty short. But I hope you enjoy.

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