Jessie bolted up, her heart beating wildly. She rushed to Jimmy, grabbed his wrists and heaved, trying to pull him out from under the burning branch. She could hardly keep her eyes open because of the heat. Sweat fell down the sides of her face. With an all-mighty tug, she managed to pull him out and fell to her back in the process.

She got back to her feet, stepped away from the flames, took a couple of deep breaths then returned to the scene. She flipped Jimmy over, locked her hands around his torso, under his arms and dragged him away from the fire.

Her heart thumped unevenly, her breaths came out ragged and sweat dripped from her forehead, but none of it mattered. She was more worried about him.

Once they reached a safe distance, Jessie let Jimmy go and dropped on the ground, breathing greedily. It was much colder away from the burning vegetation. She took his backpack off, and laid him on his back. She wished he wasn't unconscious.

She grabbed his wrist, trying to take his pulse, but he yanked his hand out of her grip. Jessie's heart jumped, thinking he was fine, but instead, he frowned and turned his head from side to side and moved his hands hectically, as though trying to beat off something invisible.

"Stand still, will you?" Jessie mumbled, trying to grab one of his hands. She couldn't hold on to him. "I'll knock you out, if you don't stop it!"

Jimmy sat up, panting. Jessie seized the opportunity and grabbed both his wrists. He fell to his back almost at once and let out a yelp.

Jessie pinned his wrists above his head. "That's much better. You had me worried there..." Her voice faltered. Jimmy had his eye opened, but seemed to be staring right through her. Crap! He'd probably hit his head really hard. She let go of his hands. "Um...Jimmy?"

He mumbled something unintelligible, his head lolling from side to side. Jessie sighed. He couldn't hear her. She waved her hand in front of his face. Couldn't see her either.

He suddenly grabbed the collar of her shirt and pulled her towards him. "Leave me. Save yourself."

Butterflies fluttered in Jessie's stomach. He'd never looked at her like that before, as if his gaze was boring into her very soul. She snapped her fingers in front of his face. Nothing happened. He still stared somewhere beyond her.

He let her go. "Jessie..." More mumbling followed.

Jessie sighed and stroked his cheek. "You're hopeless. You just hit your head. You'll snap out of it." She hoped. But since he was actually talking, the damage couldn't be too great. It was probably the heat that made him delirious.

He mumbled some more as his eyes seemed to be searching for something. Finally, they locked on her and he appeared to recognize her. A weak smile lifted the corner of his mouth. "I love you."

Jessie stared at him, her heart beating wildly. His eyes slid out of focus again and after a couple of confused blinks, they closed and his breathing became deeper.

Jessie clenched her teeth, trying to hold back the tears prickling the insides of her eyes. "Damn you." Her voice trembled. "Damn you for saying this." Her mind buzzed as thoughts swirled around her head.

He could've been talking to an imaginary Alice or to anyone else for that matter. And even if he wasn't, who cared? He's out of bounds. I'm out of bounds. She clutched her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. Why did he have to throw her into this haze? Why did he have to say the words she'd tried to avoid thinking for days? The words she longed him to say.

She shook her head. "I can't love you. I shouldn't..." Jessie's voice cracked as the truth sank in. "Damn it! You can't hear me, anyway. I love you, too. But you're delirious and have no idea what you're saying. You could've been talking to anyone. And it doesn't change anything. We could never be more than friends."

They couldn't. Not now, not ever. But the admission of her feelings, even to herself, made her feel lighter, more at peace. At least her heart hadn't lost the capacity to love, even after all she'd been through. A shiver ran through her at the thought that maybe Jimmy hadn't been delirious. No. She couldn't let her mind go there.

She tipped Jimmy over and searched his survival kit. She pulled out some disinfectant and a cloth and dabbed the scratches the tree branch had left on his back. He twitched.

"Stand still, you baby," she said.

"Easy for you to say. It stings."

Jessie jumped up in surprise. "You're up. Since when?"

Jimmy rose on his elbows and flashed a grin. "Why? Did you get all emotional?"

She felt like thumping him on the head, but the feeling disappeared almost instantly, buried by the desire to kiss him. "No. I just wanted to know if I should hit you for not cooperating."

"It's not the case. The pain woke me up. Sorry for passing out on you. That branch hit me pretty hard on the head." He looked over his shoulder. The rain kept the flames under control.

"I'm almost done, anyway. Do you have any idea where we are?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. We'll be in camp in no time." He got to his knees and planted a kiss on her cheek. "Thanks."

Jessie hung her head. She was sure she was blushing and she didn't want him to see.

*

Sam paced in front of the fire, wringing his hands. His nerves were about to snap. Like a guitar string. He half-expected to hear the sound of a string snapping. Kyle had been tuning Jessie's guitar for the past half an hour, even if he'd actually finished after the first minute.

Sam turned to face Kyle. "Why don't you just play something?"

"Not exactly a singing moment," Kyle answered, strumming the chords to form no particular melody.

"You used to play a lot at home. I liked it. It calmed me down." Sam looked away. He didn't think even that would work now. They still hadn't found Tom and Jimmy and Jessie had been missing for hours. Not to mention the black smoke issuing from the jungle. He hoped the fire wouldn't spread.

"It calmed me down, too. But smashing it would work better now. And I think Jessie wouldn't be too happy about that."

"No, not really."

Before Sam could turn around, Kyle had jumped to his feet, ran past him and hugged both Jessie and Jimmy. Except for being wet to the bone, they both seemed fine.

"You were a bit worried about us, weren't you?" Jimmy said.

Sam rushed to them and hugged them too. "To put it mildly. I was agonizing, thinking it was a bad call not following you."

Jimmy waved Sam away, smiling. "You wouldn't have helped much. I handled it just fine."

"Jessie, we're sorry about this. You have to understand that we couldn't help suspecting you—" Sam stopped once Jessie raised her hand.

"No, it's okay. I understand."

Sam let out a breath of relief. Jessie was so cool about this, he couldn't help but like her even more. He glanced at Kyle, who had a slight frown on his face and moved his head from side to side as though searching for a rhythm. His lips moved too, as if he were singing. Finally, he seemed to snap out of it and smirked.

"You two are soaked." Kyle wrapped an arm around Jimmy and Jessie's shoulders and led them away. "You should dry up, then go to Jerry and stop him hyperventilating. But, before that, I want to hear everything."

Sam watched them depart and felt some of the pressure lessening.

"I'm glad they're alright."

Sam jumped and looked up. Tom sat on the branch of a nearby tree, one leg dangling in the air.

Anger surged through Sam, beating relief out of the way. "You. Get down here! Now."

Tom lowered from the branch and dropped to the ground.

Sam rushed to him and punched him in the stomach. "You idiot! What the heck were you thinking, disappearing like that?"

"Whoa, chill, bro." Tom jumped out of the way, avoiding Sam's second punch. "I just needed the time to think."

"Think? Think? That's exactly what you're not doing!" Sam yelled. "You had all of us worried sick. You've been here all along?"

Tom shuffled his feet, his hands behind his back, looking very much like a kid caught misbehaving. "Not all along, but for the longest amount of time. I just didn't want to talk to anyone."

Sam pinched the bridge of his nose. "What got into you?" He wasn't sure he wanted to know, but better get the drama out of the way as soon as possible.

Tom huffed. "I'm a jealous idiot, that's what happened. But I've thought about it long and hard and I think I found a way to fix everything."

Yeah, Sam had no idea what the heck he was talking about, but there was only one reason Tom would get all dramatic, and that reason was Angie. "Are you still talking about that bet with Angie? Because if you are, stop it! That stupid thing is giving me sleepless nights. Just leave her alone."

"The bet?" Tom put one finger to his chin as though trying to remember what Sam was talking about and it made Sam want to punch him again. "Oh, no, that thing's over. She won anyway."

Sam's jaw dropped. "Did you just say...?"

Tom grinned. "Why so surprised? I had it coming. I guess I should thank you for suggesting I be nice to her. I realized I really like her around. Want her around. Need her around. I thought my heroics with the dart made that pretty clear."

Sam shook his head rapidly. His brain refused to process the information. "Does she know?"

"Er...no. I kinda messed up as of late." Tom scratched his head. "Some misunderstanding got in the way and I ended up that tree."

Sam stared at his twin, his feelings a mess. Was he happy for him or worried? He couldn't tell. Tom was so unpredictable. He decided he didn't want to know. Either Tom and Angie would officially become a couple or not. He wouldn't buy it until he saw them acting normal towards each other.

"Trying to avoid the drama?" Tom asked shrewdly. "Don't worry, Sam. We'll be fine. And so will you as long as you don't interrupt us anymore."

Sam waved him away and headed for his tent. Now that he stopped to think about it,this was really good news. And Tom was right. He had it coming.

🔷🔷🔷

Well, some strong words were used this chapter... hitting your head can do that.

Now that the traitor problem is solved and everyone pretty much sorted out their emotional crap, it's time for some adventuring.  Or not...

Stay tuned for more mushy crap.

Thanks for reading and don't forget to vote and comment.