Hanna tossed her bags up into the jeep. She leapt in after them, settling in the back seat to watch the two boys put their stuff into the jeep.

Alonzo walked out onto the runway carrying his packs and a few smaller food packets. Ali was right behind him, backpack slung over one shoulder, sleeping bag under one arm, and three or four large parcels under another. His sword, which also dispelled a blow dart when a concealed button in the handle was pushed, was strapped in a baldric over his back beneath the backpack.

Alonzo reached the jeep first. He threw his clothing bags into the jeep on top of Hanna’s, and then he placed the food packages carefully in a cooler on the floor.

Hanna scooted over as Ali brought his packs up. He handed some of it to Alonzo, who gave him a bemused smile as he lost his grip on some of the smaller packages, which tumbled to the ground. Ali muttered something about having the heaviest load, and tossed his backpack up into the jeep.

He didn’t aim well, though, and it hit Hanna squarely in the chest. She had stood up to watch the scene, and when the backpack hit her, she was thrown off balance and out of the jeep. Fortunately, she knew how to take a fall. She rolled a bit, avoiding banging into anything other than the ground.

She stood, brushing herself off, and glaring at the two boys. Alonzo was doubled over laughing, but Ali was oblivious to it all. He was still picking up the packs on the ground. He put them in the jeep.

When he did, he noticed for the first time that Hanna wasn’t in the jeep anymore. He scowled at her. “Hanna, give us some help.”

“Help!” Hanna blustered, rubbing her chest where the hard backpack had hit her. “Maybe you ought to help me into the jeep! You certainly helped me out of it!”

Alonzo was still laughing. She rounded on him. “And you! Stop laughing.”

He wiped tears from his eyes. “I’m sorry. It really isn’t funny, but I’m so keyed up, that seeing you fall out of the jeep like that…”

Ali frowned. “Fell out of the jeep? I helped her out?” His eyes lit on the backpack, which now sat on the ground next to her. Comprehension dawned in his eyes. “Did I? I mean… Did you just get hit with that?” He motioned to the pack.

Hanna crossed her arms. “Yes.”

“Uh… Sorry, Hanna. Didn’t look where I was tossing it. Did it hurt really badly? Are you okay?”

“If it did, I wouldn’t admit it. I’ll be fine.” She picked up his backpack. “Next time, aim! At least then, if you hit me, I can stay mad at you because you were trying!” She laughed softly, realizing that she probably had looked funny falling out of the jeep like that, and Ali hadn't been trying to hit her.

He grinned at her. “Sure thing, Captain Covalenti.” He gave her a mocking salute.

Alonzo followed suit. He took it even further. He bowed to her with a flourish, then hopped into the back of the jeep, taking packages from Ali’s hands as Ali began passing them. The two ignored her, and she stood there, feeling that old feeling of cheapness again.

For a moment, she’d thought the dreadful hollowness might be better. The two boys had seemed to include her, banter with her, as they had in their younger days. But now they were back to oblivion.

She sighed pushing away the tightness in her throat. When Alonzo sat in the middle seat in the back, she climbed in. Ali settled into the front seat, and looked back at them. He raised an eyebrow at Alonzo, a funny smile playing on his lips.

Hanna wondered what that was all about. But before she got a chance to ask, he started the jeep, and they were driving into the Gate.

***

Hanna wished she hadn’t inherited her parents’ “Gate Sickness” as her father had named it. Of course, she couldn't have known that she had it too. She'd never left West Base - never been through a Gate in her life, in fact. So she hadn't taken any motion sickness pills to help.

Fortunately, she managed to hold it together. Until they got out of the Gate, that was. Then she was leaning over the side, everything she’d had for breakfast exiting in a stream of bile. Ali stopped the car for a moment.

He didn’t understand why his sister was getting sick. Then he remembered what his parents had told him about Gates and getting sick going through them. He and Alonzo were fine. But she certainly wasn't. He didn't claim to understand it, but he did feel sympathetic towards his sister. How could he not when she was leaning over the side of the car heaving like that?

Alonzo rubbed her back with one hand, and held her loose hair out of the way with the other. “You okay?”

She finished puking, and wiped her mouth with the napkin Alonzo handed her. “No.” Her face was still slightly green as she rinsed her mouth out with water from the bottle. She took a few sips afterwards, trying to replace the liquid she’d lost with something. But she didn’t dare take much because she was afraid it might come back up.

She leaned back on the cushioned back of her seat. The exhaustion the Gate caused settled over like a stifling blanket of oppression just as her parents had said it always did for them.

Alonzo saw the look. “Why don’t you rest?” He pulled off his coat, and cushioned her head with it.

Moments later, she fell asleep. Her head drooped down to rest on his shoulder, and he gently repositioned her so that she could lay down, her head in his lap.

He gazed down at her fine features. The elfin blood on her father’s side was prominent in her in a way it hadn’t been in her father or her brother. The high chiseled cheekbones. The silver eyes and exquisite blond hair. Alonzo thought he’d never seen anything so beautiful. She rivaled even the nymphs.

He rested his arm across her gently. She stirred ever so slightly, but she didn’t wake.

Ali looked back at them. He gave Alonzo a weird look, and then he spoke. At first, Alonzo didn’t quite catch what his friend was saying because the noise from the jeep was too loud. “What?”

“I said, when and how are you going to tell her?” Ali shouted back.

Alonzo groaned. If Ali kept shouting, he’d wake Hanna up, and then he’d have to explain what he was supposed to tell her, and he’d die of embarrassment.

When Ali looked back at him again, Alonzo just shrugged. Ali rolled his eyes, then turned back to the rough terrain he was driving over. In another four hours or so, they’d be hitting some of the remote villages that surrounded the hidden place where the Gate resided.

Not that it mattered if one or two people stumbled on it. Just so long as they didn’t have any magical heritage, they couldn’t get through the Gate or even see it. And besides, who would believe wild stories of blue, glowing doorways in the middle of nowhere if someone did see it and came back to civilization telling about it? People would think those who told about their experiences liars, or, even worse, they’d think the others were off their heads.

Hanna continued to slumber on, oblivious to the bumpy ride through the wintery landscape. Ali shivered. He, Alonzo, and Hanna had worn several extra layers of clothing because they knew this was the weather they’d be dealing with, but still… They’d always lived in West Base, and in the alternate reality where West Base resided, it was nearly tropical in atmosphere. It rarely dropped below seventy-five, and more often, it was in the eighties or nineties.

He and his sister had been amazed that West Base even had long-sleeved or winter gear. Alonzo had been too, but he’d hidden it better than they had.

They hit a particularly hard bump, and Hanna jolted out of sleep. Her silvery-blond lashes fluttered, and her eyes opened, revealing her startlingly silver irises, which glittered in the reflection of the brilliant winter sun.

“What was that?” She moaned.

Alonzo smiled down at her. “Oh, that was Ali’s reckless driving. He hit a particularly hard hole in this bumpy, icy terrain.”

She glared up at him. “How long have I been asleep? And why, exactly, am I lying in your lap? I was sitting up when I fell asleep.” Her tone was accusatory, and her grumpy, confused look only confirmed she suspected something.

“I thought you’d be more comfortable lying down, and that meant I had to rest your head in my lap. There wasn’t enough room otherwise.” He had such an innocent look on his face.

Hanna lost her frown. She’d never been able to stay angry at Alonzo for long. She smiled up at him. “Umm… Okay, thanks, I guess. Can I sit up now, please?”

He shrugged. His black-brown eyes danced and a smile played on his lips. “Don’t see why not.”

She sat up, shifting back into her seat beside him. She didn’t like the way he was looking at her. That amused tone in his voice made her think something was up. “What’s going on, ‘Lonzo? What’re you up to?”

He laughed. “Nothing.”

Hanna sighed. She liked his laugh. She shook her head a bit, mentally trying to clear the thoughts out. What was wrong with her? He was playing games with her. This wasn’t like Alonzo at all. But she found she didn’t dislike it as much as she thought she should.

Crossing her arms across her chest, she gave him a hard, searching look. “It’s not nothing. What’s your game, anyway? Why the weird behavior all of the sudden?”

He smiled. With mock seriousness, he cocked his head at her. “Weird behavior? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Hanna’s eyes narrowed. Now she was certain of it. He was flirting with her. Honestly, what was wrong with him? He’d always been sort of mocking and annoying towards her and Ali, but he’d been a friend. Her best friend in fact.

And, she had to admit, he’d been helpful in chasing off all the other boys. Hanna had guessed multiple times that because of her close relationship with Alonzo, the other boys naturally assumed that she was his. Yeah, well. I’m not his. I’m not anyone’s but my own. She thought, feeling a surge of some unexpected emotion. Another series of opposite thoughts surged into her head before she could stop them. But, he’s not a bad guy. I could do worse. And besides, I kind of appreciate that he’s looked out for me all these years. He’s done as much as, if not more than, Ali, and certainly more than my parents. Time to think of it, he’s always been there when I needed him. Hanna cringed at that thought train.

She didn’t like the way her thoughts were headed, and she didn’t want to admit to herself that maybe she was beginning to feel something for Alonzo. Beginning? No. She needed to be honest with herself even if she didn’t like the truth. She’d been feeling this weird emotion around Alonzo for months.

But she’d been suppressing it. Well, she wasn’t about to stop now. They were headed into danger, and she wasn’t about to let him tie her up into an emotional knot when she should be preparing to face whatever they would come up against.

She looked at him, pupils nearly invisible dots in the sea of silver light of her irises. “Alonzo?”

He looked over at her. “Yeah?”

“Quit flirting with me. You’re terrible at it.” She smirked at him.

He smiled, laughing again. “Whatever you say.” He looked out over the frozen landscape, ignoring her.

She cringed. That was even worse than his flirting with her was. Suddenly, she wished she hadn’t said that quite the way she had.

Well, there was nothing she could do about it now. She’d just have to deal with the words she said.

***

Fifteen hours later, they hit the roads.

Hanna was shivering, but she wasn’t going to admit it. Alonzo glanced over at her, huddled in her sweater, her cheeks rosy with the chill, lips chapped. Her eyes glittered dangerously, as though daring him to find out what would happen if he offered to help warm her up.

But he wasn’t planning on taking the hints. His talk with Ali had solidified something for him. He hadn’t known it until then, but now he knew. He was in love with Hanna. Now that he knew how he felt, he was not planning to hide it any longer. If he hid his feelings and intents from Hanna, he could find that someone else had snatched her away from him.

She was young and beautiful, and the boys around West Base already had ideas about that. Hanna probably didn’t know it, but he’d kept them away from her so far. Ali’s protectiveness only went so far. But he’d found that the best thing to get rid of unwanted suitors was to simply make sure they thought she was his. He was stronger than most of them, and not many of them challenged the obvious claim he had on Hanna.

It helped that she didn’t seem to mind his company. In fact, she encouraged him to hang around with her.

Unfortunately, hanging around with Hanna didn’t seem to get rid of the girls who had their eye on him. He’d brushed them off, flaunting his preference to remain alone in their faces, but nothing had worked. He, Ali, and Hanna knew it had just been a deep friendship up until now, but no one else seemed to get that. For Hanna, that was a good thing. For Alonzo and Ali? Alonzo was still trying to decide if that misconception benefited him at all.

He glanced at Hanna again. She was shivering, and her shoulders slumped. “Uhh.. Hanna?”

“What?” She snapped, shivering and struggling not to let her teeth chatter.

He raised an eyebrow. “What’s the matter with you? I haven’t done anything to you.”

She gave him a cold look. “Really?”

He rolled his eyes. “If you want to be ornery, fine. I just wanted to know if you wanted to share a blanket. I’m going to pull out the one in the top of my pack. And… you looked cold, so I thought.”

She glared at him. “Alonzo, if this is another half-baked attempt at being funny or romantic…”

“It’s not, I swear! You just looked cold, that’s all. And I thought maybe…” He raised his hands, warding off her attack.

She interrupted him. “Maybe you didn’t think!”

“Okay, fine. I won’t share my blanket. Don’t expect me to ask again.” He snapped back.

She shivered again, this time from indignation. “I won’t!”

Ali shouted back at the two of them. “Will you two quit squabbling? Hanna, you didn’t bring your own blanket, despite the fact that Mum and Da told you to, and so now, unless you take Alonzo up on his offer, you’ll probably get frostbite. So you might want to reconsider being rude to the one person offering to share their blanket.”

Hanna glared at his back. “I…”

Alonzo interrupted her as he dug in his pack. “You really like being irritable, don’t you?” He pulled the blanket out, closed the pack, and looked back at her.

She gave him a haughty stare. “Of course not!” She felt a pang of guilt for getting mad at him.

He was just trying to help. But when she got uncomfortable, she got snappish. And she hadn't thought about what she was saying before she said it. I really need to stop doing that. He's my best friend for goodness' sake! He just wants to be nice! You're such an idiot, Hanna. Turning down an offer of help for no reason apart from your pride. She chided herself.

“Whatever. It just seems that way when all you do is glare at people. Like you’re glaring at me now.” He gave her a cocky smile.

She couldn’t help it. His smile made her feel ridiculous. She smiled back at him.

“That’s much better.” He grinned.

She blushed. “Whatever. Hey, uh… I’m sorry I snapped at you for offering to share the blanket. Any chance the offer still stands?”

He shrugged, pretending to consider. But he wouldn’t really say no. Not to her. “Hmmm…. Well, since you apologized for your black mood…. I guess it does.” He smiled at her.

She smiled back at him, the sun forming a brilliant halo on her blond hair. “Thanks.”

As he spread the blanket over them both, she snuggled against him slightly, seeming to want to make up for her earlier bad mood.

The thick, fluffy blanket began to make a difference almost immediately. It cut out the bitter chill from the wind, and warmed their chilled limbs. The combined effect of Hanna’s warmth pressed against him warmed him up instantly.

Ali looked back. He was warm enough. He’d layered far thicker clothing-wise than either of them, he had gloves, and thick insulated boots. Giving them a sly grin, he turned back to the road. “You two look cozy!” He teased.

Hanna stiffened against Alonzo. He glared shards of glass at Ali’s back. Just when he was starting to warm up and actually enjoy the ride and having Hanna next to him, her brother had to open his mouth. His cheeks burned with embarrassment.

But to his surprise, Hanna didn’t move away as he’d thought she would. Glancing over at her, he noticed that a blush had crept into her cheeks. But she had pressed closer to him, shivering. He took her hands in his. They were still icy.

Before she could protest, he rubbed them briskly between his own, warmer hands. She sighed. “Wow! That’s better. Thanks.”

He smiled at her, and her blush deepened.

Man, for a girl who acts so tough, she sure does have a certain delicacy when it comes to boys, doesn’t she? Seriously! All you have to do is look at her the wrong way, and she goes red. Alonzo wanted to laugh, but he knew it wasn’t smart, so he wisely kept his laughter hidden, face suitably blank of emotions.