Survivor
Chapter 7
Bailey stood on the rocks over the stream, looking down at the fish that swam in the shallow pool. She held the makeshift spear up and stabbed down into the water.
"Ooooh I got him!" she squealed, pulling the fish up and showing him to Nick.
"Good job," Nick laughed.
"I'm getting pretty good at this spear fishing thing," she said, grinning.
"Yeah, you really are. I'll have to take you out on my boat one day and we'll do some real fishing," he said, pulling the fish off of the stick for her with his foot. Bailey looked up at him and swallowed hard.
"Nick, do you really mean that?"
"Of course I mean it," he laughed. "Why wouldn't I?"
"I mean, you really think we're gonna get out of here?"
Nick looked out at the cold, rushing water, and pressed his lips together tightly. His lips... they were sore. Chapped from the cold. He nodded slightly. "Yeah. I do."
"I don't," she said quietly. She felt the stinging tears fill her eyes and she walked back over to the water. She didn't want him to see her cry. Nick walked behind her and put his arm around her waist. She rested her head back on his chest and he propped his chin on top of her head.
"We'll be ok," he said softly. "We've made it this far, haven't we? I mean, we survived a crash that would have killed most people. It's been colder than shit for the last two nights, and we survived. Hell, we even survived a blizzard last night. We'll be ok, Bailey. I promise we'll get out of here. And when we do, we'll celebrate."
Bailey nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Don't cry," Nick said, turning her around. He hugged her tightly. She threw down her stick and put her cold arms inside his jacket, encircling his waist. He was warm and comforting. They stood, holding each other, for several minutes. Bailey finally looked up at Nick and smiled.
"You're a sweet guy. Did you know that?"
Nick chuckled. "Well, I try."
Bailey stood on her tiptoes and kissed Nick softly. He placed a cold hand on her cheek and kissed her back. The kiss was sweet and innocent. It wasn't forceful or provocative. There was no latent sexual intention behind it. It was a kiss of gratitude and genuine affection. Bailey broke the kiss and looked up into Nick's blue eyes.
"Sorry my lips are so rough," Nick said, pressing his lips to her forehead. "They're a little chapped from all this cold wind. Just wait til we get home. Then I'll kiss you properly."
Bailey rested her head against his warm chest, listening to his strong, regular heartbeat. "Do you think we'll still be friends when we get out of here?" she asked.
"Hell yeah. After what we've been through together, I don't see how we couldn't be," Nick laughed.
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"Mr. Townsend, it's just not possible today, sir. I'm sorry. The wind in the area is just too strong. We can't safely fly anywhere near the suspected crash site right now," the pilot said, shaking his head.
"Damn it! My daughter is out there. Do you think I care about the wind? Give me the keys and I'll fly the damned helicopter myself!" Bob Townsend yelled into the receiver.
"I can't do that, sir. I can't jeopardize your life or my machine. The weather should clear sometime tomorrow and we can resume the search. But until then, there's nothing we can do."
Bob Townsend slammed the receiver back on the cradle and sat down beside Brian. He rested his head in his hands and sighed.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Townsend," Brian said quietly. "I guess all we can do is pray right now."
"You go right ahead and pray, Brian" Bob replied, giving him a nasty look. "I'm just a little busy being worried about my daughter right now."
Brian stared at him for a few seconds, then went out on the back deck with Howie and AJ.
"That guy's a real piece of work," Brian muttered.
"He's just upset," Howie said, patting Brian's shoulder. "That's his little girl out there."
"Yeah, well... that's my cousin and my best friend out there," Brian replied bitterly. "He didn't have to snap at me like that."
"Tomorrow morning. First thing. I'm gonna find them," AJ said quietly. "This waiting is killing me. They said on the news that they're expecting another 6 inches of snow tonight. I don't see how Nick and Kevin could survive in all this cold. And that girl. Man, can you imagine a girl out there for this length of time?"
"If they're even still alive," Brian said sadly.
"Don't even start that shit again, Brian," AJ snapped. "They're alive."
*********************
"... A candlelight vigil was held outside Jive Records headquarters last night for Backstreet Boys Kevin Richardson and Nick Carter. Thousands of fans gathered to pray for the safe return of Richardson and Carter, and to share memories of them and their music. As you'll recall, their plane was reported to have crashed somewhere in the Rocky Mountains between Denver and Vale, Colorado Saturday night. So far, all efforts to locate the wreckage have been unsuccessful due to bad weather. Rescue workers told MTV News that hopes of finding any survivors diminishes with each passing hour, and it would be virtually impossible for anyone to survive in the cold and rugged conditions of the mountainous terrain. Also on the plane was 21 year old Tennessee debutante, Bailey Townsend, who was a student at The University of Tennessee...."
**********************
When they returned to camp, Kevin was coughing loudly.
"You ok, Kev?" Nick asked, concerned.
"Yeah. I think I'm just getting a cold. Probably from being wet yesterday," Kevin replied, coughing again. It was a rough sounding cough, coming from deep in his lungs. The sound alarmed Bailey, but she didn't mention it.
"We caught some more fish," Nick said, beaming with pride.
"Excuse me? WHO caught the fish?" Bailey said, placing her hands on her hips.
"Well... Bailey caught some more fish," Nick said, looking down sheepishly. "Sorry. I guess I'm pretty useless, aren't I?"
"Don't worry about it," Kevin said, patting Nick on the shoulder. "I'm used to it by now."
"Thanks a lot," Nick said, rolling his eyes.
"Ok, I caught 'em. You're cleaning 'em this time," Bailey said, handing the stick with the fish on it to Kevin. He laughed as he walked to the fish cleaning station.
"I'm tired. I'm gonna lie down for a little while," Nick said. His arm was aching badly from the cold. The pain was awful. It was so much worse than when he broke his hand back in July. The ache went all the way up his arm and into his shoulder.
"Ok," Bailey said. "You want some aspirin?"
"No more Midol," Nick laughed.
"No, aspirin. There was a bottle in the first aid kit," she replied.
"Yeah. Give me a few. I'm hurting like a bitch," Nick sighed. After he took the aspirin, he went to the little tent and laid down.
Bailey sat down and warmed her hands by the fire. Kevin sat down beside her and began to roast two of the fish for their dinner.
"Kevin, are we gonna make it out of here?" she asked, looking at him with those scared blue eyes.
"Yep. I know we will," Kevin said, nodding. "We've made it this far, haven't we? We've got food. We've got shelter. We've got water. We've got fire. We'll be ok."
"I thought my daddy would have found us by now," she said sadly.
"Don't worry about that," Kevin said, putting his arm around her. "If I know AJ McLean, he'll look for us until he finds us. AJ's a determined little fucker. Sorry... excuse my language. AJ won't give up."
"You guys are really close, aren't you?"
"Yep. We are. These guys annoy the hell out of me a lot of the time, but I love 'em more than anything. We've just been though so much together. Don't you have a best friend?"
"No," Bailey said quietly. "Well, I have my sorority sisters, but I wouldn't say they were my best friends or anything. I used to have this friend, Lissa. We were really close. But she moved to California after our freshman year. This is so sad to say, but I'm closer to you guys than to my own friends."
Kevin laughed a little. "You have no choice but to be close to us. It's either be close to us or freeze to death."
"You know what I mean," she said, elbowing him.
"I know what you mean," he chuckled. "Here. Eat."
He handed her a piece of fish, which she ate quickly. "I sure wish we had some salt," she said.
"Me too. Or some cajun spice. These fish aren't too bad, but they're a little bland," Kevin agreed. He began to cough again. It was an uncontrollable cough. He stood up and walked away from her, still coughing. He went behind a tree and threw up. When he came back to the fire, he looked pale.
"Are you ok?" Bailey asked.
"Yeah, I'm alright. Just a little cough," Kevin said, shaking his head. He didn't want to admit that he was really starting to feel bad.
They sat by the fire, chatting for an hour or so. Nick finally emerged from the tent, feeling a little better from the aspirin. He sat down beside Bailey.
"Hungry?" she asked.
"Surprisingly enough, no," he replied. "I guess I'm still a little groggy."
"Well, I'm worn out now," Kevin said. "I'm going to bed. Nick don't let the fire go out. Keep putting wood on it."
"Night, Train," Nick said, not looking up from the fire.
"Train?" Bailey laughed. "Why did you call him that?"
"It's just a name we gave him a long time ago," Nick replied.
"What does it mean?"
"Ohhhh that's an ancient Backstreet secret, grasshoppa," Nick said, smiling. "I could tell you, but I'd have to kill you."
Bailey giggled. Nick held his arm out to her and she scooted over beside him. He held her close for warmth, as well as for comfort. He kissed the top of her head.
"You guys are nuts, did you know that?" she laughed.
"Yep. I can't deny it."
"So what's your nickname?" she asked.
"I have lots of them," Nick replied.
"Tell me."
"Well... let's see. Howie calls me Nicky, but I hate it. They call me Frack sometimes..."
"Frack!" Bailey laughed. "What on earth does that mean?"
"Well, they call Brian Frick, and I'm Frack. He's my best friend, so we're just Frick and Frack. They don't call us that so much anymore. Brian's gotten a little too grown up for that, I guess."
"If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?" she asked quietly.
"Hmmm... I'd be on my boat. Down in south Florida. Maybe in the Keys or something. Somewhere warm. I'd have my feet propped up and I'd be drinking a beer. A really, really big beer. Maybe a 40."
Bailey laughed out loud. "Would you be alone, or would you have somebody with you?"
"Well, I'd have you with me, of course!" Nick said, hugging her. "Remember? I promised you I'd take you out on my boat when we got home."
"That would be fun," she sighed.
"Where would you be right now?" Nick asked, poking the fire with a long stick.
"Let me think," Bailey said, resting her head on his shoulder, her arms wrapping around his waist. "I'd be in my bed at home."
"That's it? Just in your bed?" Nick laughed.
"I miss my bed," Bailey sighed. "It's a big ol' king size bed. And it's so soft and warm. I really miss my bed. I miss my bathtub, too. I'd give anything to be able to take a bath right now."
"Me too," Nick said. "I'm sure I stink."
"No you don't. Or maybe it's just that we both smell bad, so we can't smell each other."
"Bailey," Nick said quietly. "Can I kiss you?"
Bailey didn't say anything for a few seconds as she contemplated her answer. She slowly nodded, still not looking up at him. He lifted her chin and kissed her. Their tongues touched tentatively, and Bailey felt a tingle travel down her body, coming to rest between her legs. She shifted uncomfortably. Nick stroked her cheek softly and broke the kiss.
"That was nice," she said, smiling up at him.
"Yeah. Made me a little warmer," Nick chuckled.
"Me too," she said, blushing slightly.
"Can I..." Nick started.
"Can you what?" she said, looking up at him with those huge blue eyes.
"Nothing. Never mind."
"No. You started to say something. Finish it."
"Nothing. It was just a stupid idea. Just forget it," Nick said, poking the fire again.
"Well, alright," she said, shaking her head.
They stared at the fire for awhile. Bailey noticed the big, fluffy flakes of snow that were beginning to fall.
"Noooo! Not more snow," she whined. "I'm sick of snow! I'm cold. I wanna go home!"
"We'll be ok, baby," Nick soothed, hugging her to his chest. "It's just a little snow. We lived through the blizzard last night. It can't get much worse than that."
"But I want to be warm. I'm sick of being cold," she whimpered.
"Hey," Nick said, lifting her chin. "We're going to be fine, Bailey. I promise you. We'll get out of this. Now come here." He opened his jacket and wrapped her inside it, against his warm body. She cried a little as she hugged him.
"Shhhhh... don't cry," he soothed, stroking her hair. She looked up at him, her face wet with tears.
"Nick," she said quietly.
"What baby?"
"Make love to me."
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