The snow was really coming down now. It was almost a whiteout, with giant 'lake-effect' snowflakes reflecting the headlights back at Bobby as he drove a moderate speed down rural route 17. It was rare that Eames would ever ask him to drive when they were on a case, but in this near blizzard condition she was happy to turn over the keys.

"I can't believe the P-o-S vehicle the motor pool gave us." Bobby complained, used to their Escalade. "You'd think they'd give us a BETTER car going out of town.

"You know the policy, the SUVs are local issue only," Alex reminded him.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, local use…."

Just then there was a loud "pop' and 'thunk' sound from the engine and then a metal on metal screech before the old Crown Victoria unmarked police cruiser lost all power and Bobby gripped the steering wheel to keep it under control in the fallen snow.

The cruiser swerved slightly as Bobby let off the gas and tapped the breaks. As momentum reduced it was easier to straighten out the car and then bring it to a safe stop on the 'side' of the road, or at least as near the side as Bobby could figure given the blanket of snow on the highway.

Now at a complete stop and relieved not to have skid off the road and into a tree, Bobby, his hands still gripping the wheel, looked at Alex, "you ok?" He asked her. She had braced herself, pressing one hand against the dash and the other gripping the handle over the passenger window.

Letting out her breath she slowly moved her hands back to her lap, and said, "yeah, fine. What was that noise?"

"This is one of those times I wish I knew more about cars." Bobby admitted. "Wait here," he said getting out of the car.

Alex hugged her arms to herself as a gust of wind came in when he opened drivers side door. She watched Bobby walk around front and open the hood.

Then he came back around to Alex's side and said loudly enough for her to hear through the window "pop the trunk."

In the trunk he found the flashlight, and turning it on shined it around the interior where amongst the other policing accessories it illuminated a first aide kit, rescue bag, a toolbox and a shotgun. Bobby grabbed the first aide kit and rescue bag, then opening the back door he put the first aide kit on the back seat, and handed the rescue bag over the seat to Alex. "See what's in here." he said then went back to look under the hood with the flashlight.

His expression was grim as he got back in the driver's side of the car, closing the door with a "woosh" of wind and snow. "Its as bad as it sounded, there's a metal rod sticking out of the engine!"

"Wow, we threw a rod!" Alex said. "I've heard of that in car racing never in just driving down the road."

"What was in the rescue bag?" Bobby asked as he turned on the police radio and began scanning for a signal.

"A nice scratchy wool blanket. Rope. Survival knife. Whistle…" She said as she pulled the items out…"Water. Waterproof matches. Compass. Gloves. Binoculars. 'Chem' sticks. Survival rations…."

"Ok, ok, so if I can get anyone on this radio we'll have plenty to hold us over. Any signal bars on your cell?" She flipped open her phone and shook her head. Bobby looked at his, "mine either."

As Bobby tried the radio Alex picked up the road Atlas and flashlight. "I remember seeing a sign for Roscoe, I think it said 10 miles, we probably went a mile or two since…"

"So East Branch is between 7 and 10 miles back the other way."

"Maybe there's a house or cabin somewhere near by…" she started.

"Your boots aren't made for hiking through the woods in two feet of snow, and there's NO WAY I'm leaving you here."

"What's wrong with the radio? There ought at least to be a forestry outpost around here somewhere."

"It has barely any signal strength. I don't think the battery alone is strong enough to transmit through this storm, and trees, and over the foot hills." Bobby theorized, "Maybe we're transmitting but just can't receive?" He repeated their call sign, situation, and position over several different known police, fire, and rescue channels before hanging the mic back on the hook and giving up.

For a minute they just looked at each other. Alex remembered having fantasized more than once about being stranded with Bobby in the ten years they'd worked together, but she had never imagined such a thing in reality. She felt the memory causing her to blush and though he could barely see more than her silhouette she clicked off the flashlight and turned to look out the window, "It's getting kinda cold in here, huh?"

"Uh, what?' Bobby said having been lost in his own similar train of thought about Alex. "Cold? Yeah, uhm lets get that blanket out."

At first, as they huddled under the blanket for warmth, their shoulders barley touched and each made self-conscience efforts to look out their own windows. But eventually the coldness caused them to instinctively huddle closer. Feeling the cold intensifying and making her drowsy Alex decided on some small talk.

"You practically radiate BTUs and I'm still cold through and through."

He could hear the shiver trembling in her voice and survival instinct over came any sense of impropriety as he reached his arms around her and drew her in closer. He could feel her shivering now even through their winter coats as she burrowed her face into the warmth of his neck, and let out a long sigh.

Sexual tension dissipated as Bobby's characteristic compassion for his partner's well being tugged at his heart. "We'll get through this Alex," he said in that soft voice that she had dreamed about every night after work, and she felt her heart begin to race and warm her from within.

Now this intimately close Bobby could not help but smell the lavender scent of Alex's shampoo, and feel her warm breath on his neck and he was once again thinking of her as more than just a friend. His own heart began to race now too as he thought about just how much he loved Alex. Suddenly he realized he had been absently caressing the hair around her ear and stopped himself abruptly.

"Bobby…" He heard her say quietly as she lifted her head from his shoulder, and he knew this was it. This was that moment that he had known would someday undo him, that moment when she would look up at him with those beautiful eyes and he would HAVE to kiss her.

Instead he forced himself to look away and said, "I think, uh, I think maybe I should try and build a fire near the wood line, we're going to freeze to death if we don't find an external source of heat…." He could feel her looking at him through the cold darkness, "and now the emergency flashers have completely gone out, a tractor trailer could plow into this car and kill us, or even a salt truck…."

Alex extricated herself from his embrace and as she moved slightly away she said "yeah, that's what I was going to suggest."

He turned back to look at her again wishing he could see her face and read her expression. She had sounded slightly disappointed. "I'll go look for some dry wood," he said and then to her surprise he tucked the blanket tightly around her before turning away and opening the car door to get out. Alex watched him walk around the car and disappear into the eerie snow-glow lighted tree line. He wasn't gone long before all hell broke loose.

Before she knew what was happening the drivers door flew open and she spun around to find herself facing down the barrel of a gun. Then the passenger door opened and an arm came around her neck and dragged Alex from the vehicle.

She struggled against her attackers, kicking one in the groin before the man holding her struck her hard with the butt of his pistol and dazed her. They dragged her around the police cruiser and across the highway.

Bobby had heard the disturbing sounds of the struggle and dropped the few pieces of dried wood he'd found under the snow and ran back toward the car. When he came out of the woods he could see Alex being half carried half dragged into the woods opposite him, and charged after her. As he gained on them he drew his weapon and shouted, "stop! Police!"

But instead of stopping they fired on Bobby. Alex, coming out of her daze and struggling again saw him go down before she was manhandled into the woods. Even as she continued to struggle she prayed Bobby hadn't been hit. Then she was thrust to the ground and one man grabbed her ankles to keep her from kicking while the other hauled her against a tree from behind and grabbed for her cuffs as he pulled her wrists back and cuffed her to the tree.

The men stood up then, breathing hard looking at their prize, "I'm gonna go see what they left in the car." One said to the other. And as Alex at last got a good look them she called out "Bobby!"

"Shut up Bitch!" the second man said starting toward her threateningly. She kicked at him and called out for Bobby again. The man tried to move around her keeping as clear of her feet as he could but she shifted around and continued to kick out. A gunshot rang out, echoing through the woods and Alex and her antagonist froze. Seeing her distracted by the gunshot, which he assumed to be his partner in crime, the 'woodsman' dove down and pinned Alex's legs. "You needa be taught a lesson missy!' He grinned a sinister, "meth-mouthed' grin and Alex realized with a sinking feeling that him and his friend were obviously a pair of homeless drifters, which meant they had almost nothing to lose…

From the corner of her eye Alex saw movement behind a tree, then in the next instant Bobby was on the homeless man grabbing him by the scruff and fairly throwing him into the campfire embers that burned by a tent about ten feet away from the tree Alex was cuffed to. Bobby seemed covered in blood, all over his overcoat, on his pants, but Alex was relieved to see him as he dropped down next to her and reached around her with his cuff key to unlock her wrists. As she brought her hands around in front of her Bobby moved back slightly, but Alex reached forward suddenly and grabbed his gun out of its holster and everything seemed to go in slow motion from there as Bobby turned abruptly around to see "Meth-mouth" draw down on him.

Two gunshots rang out and both Bobby and the drifter fell back, and as they hit the ground there was a sudden and deafening silence as everything came back into focus for Alex and reality seemed to settle all around her. Alex dropped the gun and pushed herself up to kneel next to Bobby and look at him. He groaned and tried to get up. She put her hands on him. "Don't move," she said and got to her feet. She turned and went to look at the drifter and seeing that half his head was gone she was satisfied he was dead.

"I'm going back to the car and get the first aide kit," she told Bobby as she knelt by him and held his hand tightly. Then she got up and ran back through the trees. She slowed only slightly as she came across the body of the second drifter, a gaping wound in his chest and his eyes staring frozen open, looking lifelessly into the night sky.

Alex grabbed as much as she could carry from the police cruiser; first aide kit, blanket, survival bag, shotgun, and ran, slipping and sliding in the snow, back to where Bobby still lay by the tree. He was still conscious and with his added effort Alex was able to move him closer to the dying fire pit embers. Luckily for them the two homeless guys had also left a pile of wood, and she tossed a log onto the pit and used a nearby stick to stir the embers to life. In addition to warmth the fire added light for her to work on Bobby's wounds.

As she began to open Bobby's coat and loosen his tie Alex said, "look Bobby, I know you know a little bit about a lot of things, what do you know about gunshot wounds?"

"I know they hurt like hell…" he replied, grimacing.

Alex laughed, and then cried, and wiping the tears of pain, worry, and frustration from her bruised and battered face with the back of her sleeve she said, "c'mon Bobby, I'm gonna need your help here."

He reached up and gently touched the swelling bruise above her eye. "You should put that cold pack on your eye." She saw his eyes beginning to droop as he lowered his hand.

"Bobby! C'mon stay with me!" She tore open the field dressing from the first aide kit and peeling his blood soaked shirt aside she pressed the bandage over the wound in his right pectoral muscle and applied pressure. Then she unrolled the strips that were meant to be tied together and hold the dressing on the wound. "Bobby! Bobby!" His eyes opened and he looked at her, "Don't leave me…"

"Never." he said sleepily.

She grabbed his hand and placed it on the dressing. "Keep pressure here." she ordered, then pulled the bandage strips around his chest and removed his hand as she tied a pressure knot on top of the bandage. She then took the survival knife from the bag and cut into the material of his trousers over his left thigh where another wound seeped thick dark blood just above and to the left of his knee. Using the second and last field dressing from the kit she applied it just as she had the first using the strips to tie a pressure knot over the wound.

Bobby was unconscious now and she put her finger tips on his carotid artery to feel for a pulse, thinking to herself, "God, please don't take him from me now." She closed his coat and covered him with the blanket then went to the tent to see if the drifters had left anything useful. There was only a ratty looking sleeping bag inside, so she went back to Bobby and crawled under the blanket to lie next to him and help keep him warm.

Alex hadn't even realized she had fallen asleep when there were shouts all around, "Over here!" "Two more." Alex sat up quickly, her head throbbing, and heard "Freeze!" it was dawn and she was cold and thought that, that was very ironic, then she turned to look at Bobby. His chest was rising and falling with his shallow but blessedly steady breathing.

Then she looked at the State Trooper that was slowly approaching her, gun drawn and scowling as though he wasn't sure if she was a 'good guy' or 'bad guy.'" Alex took her badge from her belt and raised her hands, "Major Case, NYPD." she said drearily.

After that, all Alex remembered was State Troopers and Rescue Workers swarming over the campsite and calling out information and commands to one another and then she and Bobby were on stretchers in a helicopter flying to the nearest hospital and sleep once again over took her.