Clare woke up with an uneasy feeling. It wasn't the cold air that had startled her but the sense of someone hovering too close. She opened her eyes and found Brandon's face mere centimeters away from her own. She pushed herself up carefully so as not to disturb his sleep.

She wondered how long it had been since she had fallen asleep. She grabbed a hold of Jack's hand in order to look at his watch, who woke up ready to scream for help if need be.

When he saw who it was he calmed down slightly. "What? What?" he asked grabbing a hold of her shoulders, shaking her.

She ignored him and focused on the watch. Her grip around his wrist tightened. "We were meant to have woken up hours ago," she said.

Jack was puzzled. "We had an allocated sleeping time?" he asked.

"What's with all this noise? What are you two bickering about now?" Matt asked, sitting up yawning. "Some people are trying to sleep!"

Clare opened the zipper and looked outside. Snow was pressing against it. She closed the waterproof flap again. "Well, don't bother. We shouldn't have slept for so long anyway." She was busying herself by pushing against the entry hoping that she'd succeed in clearing away the snow from the outside so that it wouldn't fall inside the dry tent.

"How long did we sleep for?" Brandon asked through his sore throat.

"I'd say at least six to seven hours" she replied. When she was satisfied that a minimal amount of snow would enter the tent when they left, she left it open.

Brandon peeked out.

"What's the diagnosis, doc?" Jack asked.

"I doubt anything will be able to come by today," he replied. "The blizzard's not going to let up anytime soon."

"Then when?" said Clare.

He shrugged. "I don't know, maybe this evening, maybe tomorrow morning. I don't know."

By the evening, it wasn't the boredom of having to stay in one place or even the unrelenting blizzard that was beginning to get to them. It was the idea of waiting, waiting, and waiting. The same thing they had been doing for the past three and a half days. They had each run out of small talk, and it had literally been hours since the last time anyone had uttered a word.

"This isn't going to work." Clare whispered. "How long are we going to sit here in this shitty tent?"

"It could be days before the weather lets up," Brandon murmured.

"Then we can't possibly stay here any longer?!" Clare's voice was shrill.

"No we can't," Brandon replied matter-of-factly.

"Then what do we do?" Jack asked. "We need to get back home."

"I don't see how that'd be possible" Brandon said. "With all the snow, it'll be difficult for us to find the road underneath it all." He suddenly felt very tired; all of this was beginning to overwhelm him, draining him of energy. The only thing showing any sign of improvement was his shoulder, which was as good as new now. He rubbed his eyes.

"Well, we've got two options" Clare said as she looked out through the net. "We either wait for help to arrive, perhaps in the next few days, or we tread this hill and go back the way of the road and hope we'll bump into someone." Her face was caught between emotions. The little smile of hope which crept across her lips was bumped off by fear that gripped her hard from within. What if we freeze to death before help arrives. Suddenly the image of helpless John Wilbur flashed before her eyes. He had died waiting for help. It's possible, she thought with a whimper.

"Can't we do both?" Matt asked. "Start walking I mean. We'll cover some ground and remain visible near the road."

Matt thought of getting back home very soon. Ever since the previous day, a strange sense of satisfaction had begun to occupy him. With a wall no longer threatening him, he no longer seemed hesitant.

"We can't just wait around like this." Clare added looking at Brandon and Jack, both of whom had remained quiet. "Not a single vehicle has come by since we've been here."

Matt moved across and put his arm around her. He understood what she was trying to convey. She didn't protest. She hesitated. "I don't want to die the way John did!" she shuddered.

"We all want to go home and that's for sure," Matt stated. "So what are you two thinking about? I say we have one option and that is to move. No harm will come by it but it might help us."

The icy wind that blew in through the net caused Clare to shiver and Matt pulled her closer. Exhausted, she laid her head on his chest.

She held onto his collar. "Matt, tell them, tell them we got to move."

He looked into her eyes. "I've already told them. We can wait till the morning to hear their decision. It doesn't look like this storm will let up right now anyway, and if they stay, we could pack and make our way. Find help and come back to get them." She nodded agreement.

"Get some rest; we may be leaving in the morning." Matt leaned in and kissed her on the corner of her lips.

She shifted, across to Brandon in order to make room for the two guys to sleep. The wind had picked up again outside, howling and echoing through the hills and the mountains around them. She slid into one of the sleeping bags and tried to sleep, but all the noise made it impossible to doze off.

"Aren't you going to sleep?" Clare asked Brandon.

"I'm keeping watch," he said smiling faintly in the dark, "but you can go to sleep, you might be leaving tomorrow."

"Aren't you coming?" she asked, looking at him in surprise.

"Maybe," he replied shifting closer, "we wait here or a bit down the road, it doesn't really matter does it?" he asked softly. "Personally I think it will be safer for us to wait right here. It'll be the first place the search and rescue will look."

"But that might not be for days. Wouldn't it be good if we cover some ground? Maybe we will find help quicker that way."

"It doesn't matter to me, I just don't think leaving this place is a good idea," he said flatly. "Anyway, this weather won't be clearing up anytime soon so I doubt tomorrow will be good enough to for you to venture out there."

"It's going to be a team effort, either way, Brandon," Clare said. "It'd be best for everyone to see what the other is thinking."

He chuckled slightly. "Democracy! Then I guess majority vote wins."

She nodded. "We wouldn't want you regretting your silence later."

A crooked smile crossed his lips. "You wouldn't leave me here all by myself. Or am I wrong?"

She shook her head. "I wouldn't dream of it, nor would I expect anybody else to do so." She looked at his silhouette against the backdrop of the nylon wall. "You're in safe hands."

He smiled at the comment, "I know that too well."

"We're in this together!" she stated.

All night the wind howled. They tried to sleep while Brandon kept watch.

"I would kill to get a decent sleep right now," Matt grumbled angrily. He covered his ears, "the damn thing has been howling since last night."

Jack poked his head out of his bag, "I can't sleep either man ... is it ever going to stop?"

"Well, if you two aren't going to sleep, then do you mind if I go ahead?" Brandon asked. He slid himself back in his sack and tried to doze off.

"Jack, you coming tomorrow?" Matt asked.

"I don't know, man, do you really think it will help?" Jack asked uncertainly, "Because you know... I just want to sit here and let whatever happens, happen. Just want this all to be over, is all".

"It'll end sooner if we want it. That's why we should move, it would help more than just sitting around here with nothing to do. The least it would do is keep us sane, at least for a while" Matt said.

"I don't know. I'll see what he thinks." Jack said reluctantly looking at Brandon. "But you know what, Matt, sometimes I get this feeling that we won't get home, and I hate it." Matt just shook his head. "If we ever get out of this damn place, remind me to go to church, just to say thanks. In fact, remind me to go every week."

Matt chuckled softly. "So you're bribing God? I would have probably said the same thing." He lowered his voice. "What's happened to you?" he asked, "you never used to think, let alone think religion."

"Well, there isn't anything much more I can do at the moment" he said with a cheeky smile. "The accident has kind of put a new perspective on life."

"Just a bunch of blind men following a distant noise," Matt stretched out his legs, "I may be blind but I know where my path leads, to the sack." He struggled to get inside his sleeping bag. "Wake me up in few hours, will you?"

Jack stayed up for a couple more hours, thinking about leaving as a possible option. He looked at his watch which read two fifty, and wondered whether it was time for him to wake the others. It had been two hours and he was getting bored and sleepy sitting up all by himself. He tapped everyone's shoulders. He didn't need to say anything to Clare and Brandon; they knew it was his turn to hit the hay.

Matt moaned from his sack. "Oh, no...let me sleep...it's still too dark, Mum."

"Do I look like Mum to you?" Jack asked, "Now come on, you've had your turn" Jack nudged again, yawning with exhaustion.

"Come on, wake up," Brandon kicked Matt while stretching his legs.

"What will I do waking up now?" he asked. "We won't be doing anything till Jack wakes up, so how about letting me keep him company, huh?"

"Let him sleep then." Clare interrupted, rubbing her eyes. "I'll wake him up later."

"Yeah, yeah, let Matt sleep," Matt said excitedly.

Fifteen minutes later, Clare decided she was in need of a stretch. "God, I've never just slept for two hours, my eyes feel so puffed up, and heavy."

Brandon smiled, his eyes closing slowly. She watched his head bobbing and reached out to steady him. "Whoa."

He regained his balance. "Sorry, I'm still sleepy."

"You and me both."

"Oi, Jack, you already asleep," Brandon asked. When Jack only mumbled, he turned to Clare. "How about that?"

"What do we do now?" Clare inched closer to him.

Brandon patted the space next to him and whispered. "It's quite annoying when people talk while you're trying to sleep, wouldn't you say?"

She moved over. Brandon eyed the nylon walls of the tent and its great effort in withstanding the pressure of the wind. "I feel like washing my face," he commented, "You think I can use the snow?"

"What?"

He narrowed his eyes as if rethinking. "You don't think so?" She shook her head. "Well, it's a brilliant idea in my mind," he chuckled.

"You're an idiot, Brad" she chuckled. Suddenly his face grew dark and Clare sensed the distance between them tear wide open. Painfully wide. He had made such an effort to start a conversation quite against his personality. The smile on her face faded. "Did I say something I shouldn't have?"

"No, it's just...my dad used to call me that," he finally said.

"Used to?" her voice hesitant.

He nodded, "...died when I was ten." He weakly smiled. "This is the first time anybody has called me Brad. Just caught me off guard I guess."

"I'm so sorry."

He suddenly looked incredibly vulnerable and beat. "Me too," he whispered, leaning back. "Dawn's coming," he said breaking the ice.

Clare nodded. "You have any brothers or sisters?" she asked, finding the way he avoided any personal questions rather intriguing.

He shook his head. "Almost had one, a baby brother....always wanted to call him Mick-e." He blinked away tears, "Never got the chance to..." he cleared his throat. "You got any?"

Clare shook her head. "I don't either...Mum walked out on my dad when I was still a child and. A few years later, she died in a car accident. Apparently, there was a three-year-old boy in the car with her." She looked up and smiled, biting down on her lips. "She never told dad that they were having another child, guess she was pregnant when she left..."

After a moment Clare spoke again. "I was six at the time. I hardly remember her. Her face or her voice. She used to call me Carl sometimes. I remember that...it used to tick me off." She laughed uneasily, playing with the corner of the sleeping bag she sat on, punching the soft material. "My dad kept himself busy with work to take his mind off her. He never remarried...I was raised by nannies, most never managed to stay for more than few months."

She saw his eyes widen. "I wanted to be a difficult kid to look after. There was one who stayed longer than the rest, for about four years, but a couple of years ago, she died of a stroke". Clare found him gazing at her. Blushing, she smiled. "I was getting rather fond of her."

Brandon smiled gently. "I kind of grew up with my dad's best friend, who also happened to be the principal of my school...I moved out a few years later."

"You lived with your school's principal?" she giggled.

He nodded. "Yes ma'am. That's not the worst part." He laughed.

"Then what was?" she asked in a giggle.

"I was in love with his daughter, so it gave me a legitimate excuse to meet her every day," he grinned from ear to ear.

He could her Clare's gorgeous sensuous laughter, and couldn't help but stare at her in awe. "It wasn't like that at all. He was actually pretty much a father figure for me. Gave me advice, guided me, taught me, plus I got free tutoring. If it weren't for him, I don't know where I'd be." Embarrassed he scratched his head, an old habit.

"Well, not many people are as lucky as you" she said, gently patting his arm. "At least you had a dad figure."

Brandon gave her a questioning glance. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize that your father ..."

"Oh, no, no, he's not dead." She said quickly.

"I don't get it."

"I hardly get to see him," she said quietly. "I hardly know him. He hasn't got time for me."

"But he's your dad!"

"Business."

A moment later it dawned on him. "That's a poor excuse."

Clare chuckled, rather touched by his reaction. "He never cared for me. I don't think he even remembers he has a daughter sometimes."

"He's missing out. I'm a nobody and yet I get a chance to know you," he smiled sheepishly.

Clare's eyes welled. "Thank you!" she whispered, biting down on her lip.