I kept my mind carefully blank, thinking only of the next step, the next obstacle. I kept Angel cradled carefully in my arms to take some pressure off her and the knots I'd tied. I thought only of keeping her safe. What had only taken 10 or so minutes running, seemed like forever. Time crawled on as I walked, going painfully slowly in an effort not to hurt Angel more. It had been almost 20 minutes when I heard running footsteps. I knew it had to be Brenden and perhaps a paramedic. I shook myself out of my robot-like mind frame as they drew closer. 

Soon, Brenden and two paramedics in blue uniforms came into view. The paramedics were carrying a standard orange stretcher. "Lucy!" Brenden yelled, still running. "Brenden!" I called back, relieved that I wasn't alone anymore. I realized then that I was incredibly thirsty and incredibly glad to see him. "Miss!" The paramedics set the stretcher on the ground and beckoned for Angel. "Please, the child. We need to check her over."

 I knew that they would be able to help her, that they would take care of her. But I was still clutching her protectively and my arms didn't want to unclench. "It's okay." Brenden whispered softly in my ear. "They'll help her. Just let go." I slowly forced my muscles to relax and carefully, carefully, set her down on the waiting stretcher. As soon as I got out of the way, there began a flurry of moment as they checked for injuries and began treating the tiny child. 

I backed into Brenden and quickly spun around in surprise. He caught me around the waist and I found myself looking into his deep green eyes. There lay a well of graditude, and a trace of lingering fear that everything wouldn't end up alright. "Don't you dare kiss me like last time-" I began tiredly. I wasn't sure what to expect from him, honestly. But he didn't. He buried his face in my hair, which I hadn't even noticed had fallen out of its ponytail, and wrapped his arms around me and we just stood there. I could feel his warm breath on my neck and I raised my tired arms to wrap them around his waist.

 "Thank you." he mumbled against my hair. "Thank you for everything." I finally let myself feel how exhausted I was from everything, the stress and running and climbing and the endless walking. My knees buckled. Just in time, Brenden scooped me up, bridal-style. He sat down on the carpet of leaves coating the ground, watching the medics work on Angel and cradling me in his arms much the same way I had cradled Angel. Tenderly, as if scared to break something so precious. As for me, I slept.

I was still mostly asleep when the paramedics had given Angel all the immediate treatment she needed, so when they announced that it was time to head back to the house, I couldn't even think clearly enough to try to move. So Brenden, probably still tired from the running and stress, just stood back up, still carrying me, and began to walk behind the paramedics. I floated in and out of sleep in the few more minutes it took to reach the house.

 When we were almost there, however, Brenden shook me awake and set me on my feet. "I don't want everyone to be more alarmed by me carrying you in." He explained in my ear. "Also, my mom can't drown you in gratitude of you're asleep." He joked as he slid an arm around my waist to steady me. I nodded, still tired and rubbing sleep from my eyes. "I hope Angel's okay." I murmured. "I hope so too, but the paramedics would've said something if she was in danger of permanent injury."