When Clare woke up to an empty room, she got up, and pulling the blanket with her, emerged from the room to smell a unique warm aroma lingering in the morning air. She glanced towards the boys sitting around talking, sipping something out of mugs. Steam floated up in white dancing streams. Regardless of what they were drinking, she knew it was warm.

The guys caught her hungry eyes following the wispy steam floating up.

"It's tea. Hot, steaming tea," Brandon uttered before she could even open her mouth.

"Tea?" she choked gleefully.

"We found some in the kitchen, gathering dust," Matt said. "Do you want some? The water is still very hot..." he asked, pointing towards the fireplace flickering with bright flames. A scene from a time long forgotten a kettle hung from an iron bar spanning the breadth of the fireplace. Mathew looked back at her again. "Hope you like it black."

"Yeah, black is fine, thank you," she smiled warmly, itching to take her gloves off and hold the warm mug in her hands. She watched as Jack poured her a mug. She seated herself on the little carpet in front of the small fire and waited for Jack to hand her the drink. As she stared into the swirling warmth of her tea the boys told her how they had come across the tea in the first place.

"It started out when Brandon was bored and went off scouting this place..." Matt said.

Clare, her arms resting atop her knees, her fingers wrapped around the curve of the mug. A tingling sensation hit her as her cold fingers struggled to stay close to the hot mug. She gasped as her mouth filled with the generally tasteless black tea; she swallowed it immediately almost in disbelief that it was real. The hot drink rolled down her throat, warming her chest.

Taking another sip she remarked. "This is fabulous." The guys laughed. They didn't bother going on with the exciting story about the tea.

She took another sip and with this, and almost inaudibly moaned out as if in reaction to some ecstatic substance.

"Damn girl... don't do that," Jack looked down at her cheekily. "That kind of a sound can..." he shook his head, "you know, give ideas..."

She merely glared at him a moment before returning to drink the warm nectar.

"Don't let Jack get off so easily Peterson, you might come to regret it," Matt said.

She smiled slightly through pressed lips. "So, how did you find this stuff?" she asked. Matt made himself comfortable on the arm of the worn sofa, ready to continue on where he had left off with his story, but Brandon wasn't in the mood to hear it retold.

"Actually it was nothing," he hurriedly said. "I just wanted to warm myself so I went through the kitchen and checked out all the cupboards," he sipped out of his cup, "and found this packet of tea. That's about it."

"Tea's the only thing you found?" she asked glancing at him. He nodded.

"We have to get out of this place," Matt spoke with dread.

"No way dude. I'm not going anywhere anymore," Jack shook his head. "I'm tired of all this walking around, searching for people who aren't around." He defiantly stood up. "I'm gonna die here, Matt, we all are. May as well die with a little dignity in this God-forsaken house... but there is no way I'm willing to go out there again." His hand pointed towards the door, "not again - to get lost and die out there."

Anguish blaring out through his eyes. Jack walked off towards the back room. At the door, he turned around. "At least here, there's a chance someone will find our remains. Out there, we'll just get buried by the snow, and no one will know," he added in a much calmer tone.

"You don't understand, Jack. No one is coming here for a while, and we don't have much food left," Matt protested, gently. "If we did, do you think I would even imagine leaving this house to go out in the blinding snow to get lost?"

"We might get lost or we might not. We might find help, or not, but I don't want to give up without even trying," he added passionately.

Jack came back out, fury in his tired eyes. "GO," he yelled, "I'm not stopping you, but I have the right to choose, and if I choose to stay, you can't do anything about it. Got it? I'm staying, and that's final". He shut the door.

Taken aback by Jack's anger, Matt stood in front of the door for a while. His trance was only broken by Brandon's voice calling from behind. He turned around with confusion still plastered on his face.

"You all right?"

Without a word, he joined them and sank into the daggy sofa.

In the afternoon Matt entered the room to try and talk to Jack, who simply got up and left him standing alone. "Don't, Matt, I'm not in the mood to talk."

"Still not talking?" Clare asked Jack.

"About what...?" Jack asked vehemently.

Clare got up from the spot in front of the fireplace, "I think I'll get some shut eye, all that walking tired me out."

She shut the door behind her, looked up and found Matt sitting on a bottom bunk. "Quite a chilly reception you got." She commented. "It's odd seeing you fight, rather unsettling if I might add." She sat on the bunk opposite him.

"We usually never do," Matt agreed quietly.

"It's scary for us, Brandon and me, to see you two break apart," she said nervously. "All we have is the four of us, to help get through this, and if this falls apart, we fall apart", she got up and sat next to him.

"I want to leave this place" he whispered, "it feels as if I have given up. This can't be it, this can't be where we're gonna die," he looked at her a split moment before she grabbed a hold of his arm and tucked it through hers.

His eyes hovered upon her face. "I don't like that feeling" he stated flatly, staring at his sprained ankle. "I would go off right now if only I could. The more time we waste, the less time we have." She listened quietly.

"Jack's like that, he gives up too easily. It's frustrating to walk around in the middle of nowhere, all the time hoping to find help. It's enough to drive you crazy, but we can't lose hope, not yet. We have to be close to some small village or something; a day or two. That is, if we don't get lost," he said staring at the slightly ajar door.

"I agree," she whispered looking at his pale face.

"You agree?"

She nodded, "We should keep going but, on the other hand, I also feel the same way as Jack. I'm tired of this constant fear, this reminder that tomorrow may be my last day, or even tonight and I... I want to stay put," she stammered. "I'd rather die here than be lost out there if it came down to that."

"Can't argue with that, but still?" he said sounding defeated. "The accident happened five or six days ago, and had things gone according to the schedule, we would be home today." He appeared to be talking to himself.

"What are you getting at?"

"Just that, we would have been home today if the accident had never happened..."

"But we're not..." she stated.

"And why aren't we?" he asked rhetorically. "We should have been found by a search party already... provided they even know to look for us. But they haven't," he stared at her. "We are still missing. It's been almost a week, and we are still missing." He saw her swallow nervously. "That's why I was insisting that some of us should be out there trying to attract the attention of the search party".

"In other words, you want me to go?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Let me think about it," a soft pleading tone escaped from her.

Brandon popped his head in. "Jack and I are going to eat something, come out of your cave so we can eat together." He almost walked out, then turned back, lowering his voice. "Matt, I agree with you. We should leave this place, the longer we stay here, the harder it's gonna get to leave... talk to him, maybe he's had enough time to cool down and think about it more rationally." He barely glanced at Matt and Clare's interlocked hands before disappearing.

"Try not to get too annoyed with Jack," Clare advised. "After all, he makes sense too."

"I'm not annoyed. I'm merely trying to think logically for him."

"You can't spring an idea on him and expect him to agree with it straight away. You have to give him time to get used to it, Matt."

"He's being stupid. We won't arrive at anything by staying here and you know that." He stared at her a moment, "There are still some of us who are able to go on. If that wasn't the case, I wouldn't be pressing so firmly for it. I'm not crazy, Clare."

"Not everyone is brave!" she whispered, getting off the bunk. "You're only saying this because of your ankle, otherwise you and Brandon could go since you both want to, and Jack and I could stay. Don't you both love to live dangerously?" she almost laughed, an achy laugh.

"But my ankle isn't fine, is it?" he stared at the back of her head. When she turned around he smiled softly. "Live", he repeated getting up. "That's all I want. To live. I'm going to go eat, are you coming?" he asked walking towards the door.

"Why is it so difficult for guys to let out their emotions...?" She pushed past him. "You were the one who raised the issue," she stated with a frown, bumping past him.

Matt looked at her perplexed.

She shook her head, "Are you going to talk to Jack or not?"

"Does it matter, Clare?" He asked again, sensing that she had something more to say.

She looked at him thoughtfully, "I want to live too."

Matt laughed, relieved. "I love a headstrong woman!"

A grin spread across her face in astonished disbelief. "Shall we go to eat?"

"Why not?" he followed. "I have a damn urge to kiss you right about now," he muttered quietly.