“Damn, I can’t believe our vacation is over!” Evie sighed. The two friends were getting ready to take a plane back to the States after a week long vacation in Barbados and neither of them really wanted the trip to end.

“I know,” Dee said softly. “But it is. Sucks, doesn’t it?”

“God yes!” Evie pouted. They heard the boarding call and headed for the plane. It was a small jet that only carried about forty passengers, so they could see every one as they boarded. Evie stifled a squeal and whispered, “Oh, my God, Dee, is that who I think it is?”

Dee was too busy staring at the five men who’d just gotten on the plane to answer. She merely nodded as Evie hissed, “That’s, that’s, that’s.....”

“Def Leppard, Evie,” Dee whispered. “And if you pounce on them as soon as they sit down, I’m gonna kill you!”

“But, but, that’s Sav, Dee!” she whined. Evie watched, totally enthralled, as Sav and Joe passed them and took the seats immediately behind them. Rick, Vivian and Phil took seats across the aisle from them. By the time they got settled, Evie was practically hyperventilating and Dee’s knuckles were white from gripping the arm rests. Every time Evie tried to turn around, she got an elbow in the ribs to remind her to learn a little patience.

Forty five minutes into the flight, Evie finally ignored Dee and started to turn around. But before she could say a word, the plane jerked in mid-air. Everyone started to look around, wondering what was going on. Joe nudged Sav and said, “I hope to hell that’s just turbulence!”

“Me too, mate,” Sav answered, then they all got bumped around as the plane started to shake. The pilot never said a word, but the attendant started trying to get flotation devices out for the passengers. She was thrown across the cabin as the plane bucked again. Terrified faces looked around as the passengers heard a horrifying rending sound. Then they heard the first explosion.

Evie screamed as Dee fumbled with her safety belt, trying unsuccessfully to get it on. Dee gave it up as a bad job and dived under her seat, only to find herself staring back at Sav. He’d gotten the same idea, that it might be safer under the seats than to have his head up with possible flying debris. They gave each other a nervous smile, then Dee stifled a scream as another explosion rocked the small jet. Sav grabbed her hand just as the lights on the plane went out. Then Dee felt wind tearing through the plane as the cockpit came away from the main part of the jet. The last thing she remembered was being thrown into Evie’s legs as the plane blew apart.

There was water everywhere and Dee felt herself starting to float to the surface. She held her breath but still came up sputtering as she cleared the water. All around her, she could hear screams as people tried to locate those they’d been traveling with. She coughed, then yelled, “EVIE! WHERE ARE YOU????”

A second later, she heard her friend’s voice call, “I’m here, Dee!”

Dee swam towards the sound of her voice and found her about twenty foot away. She was hanging on to her seat cushion for dear life. Aside from Evie, all Dee could hear was the cries and screams of the others who’d been aboard the plane. The ocean itself was silent.

“Are you okay, Evie?” Dee asked. She’d checked herself out as best she could and realized nothing was broken, so now her concern was for her friend.

“I think my arm’s broken and my leg isn’t moving too well either,” Evie said in a strained voice. The pain was obvious in her tone. Suddenly concerned about sharks, Dee asked, “Are you bleeding?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Evie said cautiously. Dee spotted a large object floating by and said, “I’m gonna try to get us up on that. At least we’ll be out of the water.”

Thanking her lucky stars that the water was calm, Dee pulled Evie along as she swam over to the object. It turned out to be a piece of the plane’s outer shell, curved perfectly to keep the water out. Dee pushed Evie up onto it and then pulled herself up, looking around at the water in the darkness. There were suitcases everywhere. Then she spotted a body floating by. She turned quickly away, not wanting to see who it was that had died. Most of the voices seemed to be getting fainter as time passed. Then she heard a British accent calling, “Help me! My friend’s going to drown if I don’t get him out of this damn water!”

Without thinking, Dee dove straight into the water and swam in the direction of the voice. About thirty yards off, she found two men trying to keep above the water line. Actually, only one of them was swimming. The other seemed to be unconscious, but still breathing.

“Okay, we found something big that floats. I think it’s part of the plane,” Dee explained. “We’ve got to get him over to it!”

Dee pulled at them and felt the man trying to help her get his friend to safety. In a few moments, they caught up to Evie and the plane fragment. Evie helped to pull the hurt man onto their makeshift boat, then Dee and the second man managed to clamber aboard.

“We’ve got to keep him warm! I don’t know much about first aid, but I’m afraid he’ll go into shock if we don’t,” Dee said as calmly as she could. With a bit of work, they managed to get the lifeless form between the two girls and they held him against themselves as best they could. The second man leaned against Dee with a sigh. Then, slowly, exhaustion overcame all three of them and they fell asleep as they floated over the ocean.

Dee woke the next morning with the sun beating down on them. When Dee opened her eyes, she found herself staring down at the top of a blond head. She could see a gash running along the top of the man’s forehead and bent down to examine the wound. Then she looked at his face and gasped. The man who she slept with her arms around the night before was none other than Joe Elliott!

She remembered the second man referring to Joe as his friend and was suddenly terrified to turn and see who he was. She busied herself with checking on Joe until she heard a soft British voice ask, “How is he?”

Turning around slowly, she found herself staring into Rick Savage’s baby blue eyes. She’d prepared herself for this possibility and said in an even voice, though she didn’t know how she kept from screaming, “He’s hurt pretty bad, Mr. Savage.”

“Please, call me Rick or Sav. Anything but Mr. Savage,” Sav said with a quiet smile. He leaned up and started looking around for any of the other survivors of the crash. There wasn’t a soul to be found. He sighed sadly and turned back to Dee.

“I’m Dee and she’s Evie,” Dee said quickly, motioning to Evie’s still sleeping form. “And it’s safe to assume this guy is Joe Elliott, correct?”

“Very,” Sav answered. “Has he come to yet?”

“No, I didn’t feel him move all night last night. But his breathing seems pretty even, not too shallow,” Dee replied. “I just don’t like the look of the hit he took to the head.”

“I don’t either,” Sav said quietly. He watched as Dee tore a piece of her shirt off and said, “Can you get this wet for me? I want to get the excess blood off so I can see what’s going on.”

Sav took the rag and dipped it in the ocean, then handed it back to her. As soon as the salt water hit the open cut on his head, she saw Joe flinch in pain. But his eyes still didn’t open. Once the blood was gone, Dee could see that at least the wound wasn’t down to the bone or anything. “He’s probably got a nasty concussion, but he’s already asleep so we can’t try to keep him awake now. All we can do is hope he doesn’t lapse into a coma.”

“Fuck!” Sav exclaimed. Then he quickly said, “Sorry for the language. Guess I’m just scared.”

“Don’t worry, I say it all the time,” Dee said with a faint smile.

“Good,” Sav said quickly. “Jesus, I wonder what happened to the others?”

Dee slumped back and said, “Oh, shit, that’s right! The rest of the band was on the plane as well!”

Sav nodded quietly, tears pricking at his eyes as he thought of losing so many of his friends. Dee sat quietly as Sav’s mind raced over the others. Phil, the guitar wizard with a wicked sense for practical joke. Vivian, another guitar genius who always had a sunny Irish smile for everyone. And Rick. He’d overcome so much, how was it possible that his life had ended like this?

Dee scanned the ocean in wonder. There had been so many voices the night before, how could they be the only survivors? There was a lot of luggage in the water, and one or two bodies, but that was it. A suitcase floated by and Dee managed to lean out and snag it. Pulling it into the boat, she opened it and gave a huge sigh of relief. Inside there was a bottle of wine, wrapped in a blanket, that someone had thoughtfully brought home as a gift, as well as three cartons of duty free cigarettes. The person had been trying to save a bit of money and ended up giving these four people something they’d definitely be wanting as they waited for rescue.

Dee also had her purse still strung over her head and shoulder, but she’d forgotten all about it. Inside she had some Tylenol that she knew Joe was going to need later. In the bottom, she found a bottle of sunblock and gave Sav a smile. “Well, at least we won’t fry while we wait.”

She opened the sunblock and moved closer to Joe, smoothing the fluid over his exposed skin to protect him from getting burned. Then she slathered it over her own body before handing it over to Sav. When he was finished, Dee leaned over and nudged Evie. She woke with a screech of pain because Dee had bumped her bad leg.

“What the fuck?” Evie said quickly, then looked at Joe’s inert body in the boat. “JESUS! That’s Joe!! Dee, you just rescued Joe Elliott.”

“Um, I think Sav here did the real rescuing,” Dee said with a smile at Sav. Evie’s head snapped around as her eyes locked on Sav. She let out a little squeal, then got quiet very quickly.

“Hi, Evie,” Sav said with a smile.

“Hi!” Evie squeaked. She started to lean over and shake his hand, but grimaced in pain instead. Dee moved over and looked at her arm, checking for anything that might be broken. There was a nasty bruise and some swelling, but everything seemed to be in place. Moving down to Evie’s leg, she found the same thing. Lots of bruises and an ankle the size of a grapefruit, but at least no compound fractures.

“Well, Evie, I’ve got some bad news for ya. I think you’re gonna live,” Dee said with a laugh.

“Not in this sun!” Evie said, fanning herself quickly with her good arm.

Dee looked out over the ocean, trying to find anything that could help them with the heat. There wasn’t anything close by that gave her any ideas. Sav looked in the suitcase and asked, “Anyway we can get this blanket to stay up over our heads? At least it will give us some shade.”

“Good idea,” Dee answered. She took one end of it and managed to fasten it over Joe and Evie’s heads, then pulled it across and made a lean-to out of it. But it wasn’t wide enough for all four of them to get completely under it. Sav moved around and laid down by their feet while Dee squeezed in part of the way next to Joe. Dee managed to open the wine bottle with a fingernail file, though bits of cork now floated in the liquid. They each drank from it, then set it aside. They didn’t know how long they were going to be stuck floating on the ocean, so they decided to be conservative when it came to their only thing to drink. Dee fished in her purse and found her cigarettes still wrapped in their cellophane. She pulled one out and passed one to Sav, knowing from the internet that he liked menthol. Then she opened one of the wet cartons and passed a pack of regular cigarettes to Evie. Her lighter was dry, so she lit hers and then let the other two do the same.

“Thanks, luv. So, here’s a question to get things rolling. How old are you two? Twenty-two, twenty-three, something like that?” Sav asked. Dee busted out laughing as Evie said, “Well, I’m twenty two, but...”

“You think I’m twenty-three?” Dee chuckled.

“What, did I guess you too old?” Sav said in confusion. Evie looked at Dee and started laughing as well. Then Dee said, “Nah, but you’re off by close to a decade.”

“Well, I know you’re not thirteen. Are you trying to tell me you’re thirty-three?” Sav asked in amazement.

“Thirty one, thank you!” Dee said quickly.

“Damn, I would have never guess you a day over twenty-five,” Sav said, shaking his head. “Must be losing my touch!”

“Nah, happens to me all the time,” Dee sighed.

“So, what were you two lovely ladies doing in Barbados?” Sav asked. Evie looked at Dee, wondering if Dee would tell him the truth on this one. Sav caught her look and said, “Hope you weren’t doing anything naughty!”

“No,” Dee answered quietly. “Evie drug me down here to get my mind off something.”

“And what was that?” Sav asked curiously.

“My divorce,” she answered simply.

“Oh,” Sav replied. “I take it the divorce wasn’t your idea, from the tone of your voice.”

“No, it wasn’t,” she answered.

“I’m sorry. You don’t have to talk about it,” Sav said quietly.

“That’s okay,” Dee said softly. “Jeff just decided he didn’t want to be married any more. We still get along okay, but I have to admit I’m a bit raw over it all.”

“I imagine,” Sav answered quietly.

Evie changed the subject quickly, asking Sav about life in the band. Unfortunately for the four on broken bit of the plane, the blanket over head was blue. It camouflaged them in the blue of the ocean and the search plane flying high overhead never saw them. And since they were engrossed in conversation finally, they didn’t hear it flying over them.

The Coast Guard boat floated over the ocean as the survivors of the wreck were pulled out of the water. Vivian, Rick and Phil watched anxiously from the bow as each person was brought on. Once they got all the live people out of the water, they started collecting the bodies. With each one, the small group looked over them quietly, relieved that they didn’t recognize them. But finally, the Coast Guard gave up the hunt when they could find no one else.

“Jesus,” Rick said quietly. “Do you think Joe and Sav are....”

“I don’t know, mate,” Vivian answered, trying to hold back his tears. “I don’t even want to think about it.” Phil just sat, not saying a word and crying softly into his hands.

When the boat pulled away, there were nine people still unaccounted for and presumed lost at sea. The list included Evie Sinclair, Dee Ross, Joe Elliott, Rick Savage and five others.

As night began to fall, Dee looked at the others and said, “Um, am I the only one here who thinks they’re not going to find us?”

“Yeah, I’m starting to get a bit worried myself,” Sav answered, looking at Joe in concern. “We really need to get Joe to a doctor.”

“Not much chance of that, Sav, considering we’re kinda stuck here,” Evie said sadly. Dee was keeping a close eye on Joe, but hadn’t seen much of a change yet. He just seemed to be sleeping, which had Dee worried. But she said nothing to the others, not wanting them to get overly concerned for the moment. Sav was already upset about the loss of his other friends and it had taken everything the girls could think of to keep his spirits up. The last thing he needed was to start wondering if Joe would be next. The girls put their arms around Joe and Sav moved up behind Dee, leaning against her back as they settled down to go to sleep.

Dee woke in the morning just before dawn as their little craft jerked. Sav looked down at her and said, “What the hell was that?”

“I don’t know, but it feels like we’re stuck on something,” Dee answered. “I guess we’ll find out at day break.” She curled back up against Joe, leaving Sav no choice but to go back to sleep as well.

“Dee, we’re not moving,” Evie whispered when she woke up. Dee woke with a start, bumping Sav in the process, and said, “Damn, you’re right!”

Dee peered over the top edge of the makeshift craft and screamed, “Oh, my God!! There’s an island just ahead of us!”

Sav got up and looked. He saw a small, green island rising up out of the ocean, covered in trees and vegetation most the way up its hill. It was only about a hundred yards across the water to the beach. They were stuck on some kind of barrier reef that had caught the bottom of the bit they floated on.

“We’ve got to get off this thing,” Sav said quietly. He looked at Dee and they both stood up carefully, moving to the edge and jumping into the water. It was crystal blue and completely clear, letting the two swimmers see exactly what was going on underneath it. There were a few small pieces of coral that were holding it up. They surfaced and Dee asked, “Think we can push it off here?”

“It’s worth a try. I think it’d be better to float Joe to the island then try to swim him over,” Sav said with a sigh. They dove under again and shoved at the fiberglass above them. It took three dives to finally dislodge it and send it floating towards the island. Dee and Sav swam along side until it made it into the shallow water on the beach.

“Hey, Evie, wait here with Joe while we check this out. Okay?” Dee said quietly.

“Yeah, just don’t forget us, okay?” Evie said with a smile.

Walking up on the beach, Dee headed straight for the trees and started looking around. Sav trailed over the sand, looking for any sign someone had been there before. He couldn’t find a thing. Not so much as a scrap of paper littered the pristine sand. Only luggage and bits of plane the floated against the shore. When Dee came back, she said, “Well, there’s nothing but trees heading up the hill.”

“Yeah, I was afraid of that,” Sav answered. “We seem to be on an uncharted island, luv.”

“FUCK!” she exclaimed quickly. “If no one ever comes here, how the fuck are they going to find us?”

“I don’t know,” he sighed. “Let’s get those two over here and get them settled, then we’ll check things out a bit more.”

They walked back over to the wreck they’d floated in on and considered their options. Dee snagged the blanket from overhead and headed back to the trees. Laying it on the ground, she made up a makeshift bed for Joe and Evie then went back to where the others waited. “Let’s get Joe over there first, then we’ll come back for you, Evie.”

“Okay,” Evie answered.

Dee and Sav got on either side of Joe and put his arms over their shoulders. As they lifted him, Dee muttered, “Lord, why couldn’t it have been Vivian or Phil who was unconscious here? They’ve got to be lighter than Joe!”

“Yeah, I know,” Sav groaned as he tried to take most of Joe’s weight. Dee was only five foot, six inches, so they ended up dragging Joe’s feet behind them as they walked him across the beach. They laid him down gently on the blanket and Dee started to check over him more thoroughly. The gash on his head seemed to be healing over, but she was worried that he felt a bit feverish now. The salt from the ocean had helped clean the first wound she’d found, but she needed to know if there were others. She pulled open his shirt and took it carefully off his shoulders, looking him over thoroughly. When she rolled him over, she found a second gash that seemed to be getting infected.

“Fuck!” she said quietly. She skinned off her shirt without thinking and said, “Sav, get this wet for me. He’s got a cut on his back and it looks pretty nasty.”

Sav ran for the water’s edge and soaked the shirt down, then brought it back to her quickly. She heard Joe moan as the salt water hit the wound. Closing her eyes for a second, she wished suddenly she’d followed in her mother’s footsteps and become a nurse. Luckily, her mother had taught her enough that she could clean the gash effectively. She ran the shirt over the edges of the cut, making sure to go methodically over every inch of the red, inflamed areas around the outside. Just as she was finishing up, Joe mumbled an incoherent curse at the pain. She scrambled over him and saw his eyes flutter open.

“What the hell’s going on!” Joe muttered softly.

Dee ran a gentle hand over his hair and said, “You’ve got to lie still, Joe. You were hurt in when the plane crashed and you’ve taken a couple of nasty wounds.”

“Fuck, I feel like I got hit by a truck,” he groaned. He tried to lift his head, but the pain that lanced through it stopping him cold. He looked at Dee desperately and asked, “Where are the others? Sav, Vivian, Rick and Phil? They were on the plane with me!”

“I’m right here, Joe,” Sav answered. “We’re not sure where the others are right now. Hell, we don’t even know where we are at the moment!”

Joe turned his head towards Sav and whispered, “What are you talking about, mate?”

“We’re stuck on an island, Joe,” Sav explained. “And there’s not another soul on it.”

Joe looked up at Dee and said, “Hmm, well, there are worse people to be stuck with, I guess.” She smiled down at him and said, “Okay, you’ve said enough for now, Joe. You need to rest and we need to get Evie over here.”

“You stay with Joe. Evie’s a tiny little thing and she can still use one leg. I think I can manage her alone,” Sav said quickly. Dee used a clean part of the shirt to wipe off Joe’s fevered face, regretting that they only had salt water to cool him off. If they didn’t find fresh water soon, they were never going to last on this island. Joe fell back to sleep against her comforting hand.

Sav helped Evie limp over to the blanket and got her to sit down behind Joe. Evie took one look at Dee’s worried face and asked, “How is he?”

“Well, he woke up cussing, so I think he’s going to be okay,” Dee sighed. She stood up and said, “Sav, we need to collect as much of that baggage as we can. There may be some stuff we can use in them.”

They headed for the beach and started hauling stuff up to the place where Joe and Evie were resting. After a couple of bags, Dee realized she was still in only a bra and opened the nearest case. She grabbed a large white shirt with what looked like a sports logo on it and slipped it over her head. When Sav saw her, he groaned and asked, “Did you have to pick out that shirt?”

“Why, what is it?” Dee asked quietly.

“Well, apparently, luv, you found Joe’s suitcase. That’s his Sheffield United jersey!” Sav said in disgust.

“Sorry,” she said quietly. She took Joe’s case up and set it to the side of the others, then went back to hauling. She walked over by some rocks and let out a shriek that brought Sav running to her side. “What’s wrong, Dee?” he asked in concern.

All she could do was point at the body floating in the water. He sat down on the rock and looked at her, wondering if she’d be able to help him get rid of the corpse. Her eyes were wide when he asked, “Can you help me bury her?”

She took a deep breath and whispered, “Yeah, I think so.”

Grabbing a few of the scattered items of clothes, Dee and Sav wrapped them around their hands and drug the woman’s body away from their small encampment. They dug into the soft sand and laid the woman in the shallow grave, then covered her over.

They picked up the last of the cases and headed back to where Joe and Evie waited. Both of them were sleeping, so Dee took off to explore the island in one direction while Sav went the other way. Dee heading into the forest and up the hill. After tripping her way through the forest for a while, she stumbled on a pool of clear water that was running down off the small mountain ahead. She leaned down and tasted it, finding out quickly that it was indeed fresh water. The salt of the ocean was irritating her skin, so she decided she’d just wash up quickly before going down to get the others. Stripping off her clothes, she walked into the water slowly. It was so cool and refreshing, she couldn’t believe it. The center of the pond was too deep for her to stand in, so she swam across until she hit the other shore.

Sav had no luck in the direction he went, ending up facing a small cliff there was no way for him to climb. He doubled back and headed in Dee’s direction, wondering if she’d found anything. When he heard her splashing in the pool, he headed in her direction and found her bathing naked in the water. “Mind if I come in?” Sav asked quietly.

Dee spun around, startled by his sudden appearance. She closed her eyes and said, “Well, it’ll help get the salt off.”

She swam away from him as he stripped out of his salt encrusted clothes and slipped into the water. At first, the two of them stayed apart, but Dee couldn’t get to her clothes without passing him. As she tried to swim by him, he splashed her and started a war. Soon they were playing like children in the pond, caution thrown to the wind. Dee moved closer and went to get him full in the face, but he dove under the water and came up behind her. He grabbed her arms just in time to keep from getting a face full of water.

They stood there for a moment, just looking at each other. Then Sav did the last thing Dee expected. He pulled her closer to him and kissed her. For a second, she was in shock, but his lips were gently demanding that she respond. She melted into his body, feeling every inch of him as his tongue begged for entrance into her mouth. His tongue explored her mouth gently as his hands wandered over her back and down to her ass, pulling her against him.

They moved slowly towards the shore, not even thinking about what they were doing at that moment. As they reached the soft ground, Sav laid her back on the grass at the edge of the pond. In the past two days, they’d lived through something unimaginable to most people and they tried to forget everything in each other’s arms for a while. Dee gasped as Sav drove into her body, the desperation of the past few hours showing in his need for her. She leaned up and kissed him roughly, moaning against his lips as he thrust into her body. Sav could feel her body tensing under him as she whispered his name against his throat. As she fell over the edge, he pushed into her harder and let his own body release into her. He said her name hoarsely as his seed spilled into her waiting womb. Then he held her close to him as the stress of their situation finally washed over her and she started to cry.

“Dee, I’m sorry. That shouldn’t have happened,” Sav whispered. “I guess we just sort of lost it.”

“That’s okay,” she murmured. “It’s good to feel alive again. I’m just so scared, Sav. What can we do to help them? How are we gonna get off this damn island?”

“We’ll manage,” Sav said softly. “We don’t have any choice, do we?”

“No, we don’t. But one things for sure, we can’t let this happen again,” Dee answered. “The last thing we need is to have to deal with this kind of thing right now! They need us too much for us to be off playing around somewhere.”

At just that second, they heard Evie screaming for Dee. The fear was evident in her voice, so Dee and Sav threw on their clothes and went crashing through the woods towards the sound of her screams. As they burst through the clearing, they could see what was going on and rushed over to Joe. He was thrashing on the ground, fighting against something and clearly delusional. Sav held him down as Dee put her hand against his face and said, “Damn it! His fever’s going up! We’ve got to get his temperature down!”

“Can we try putting him in the water over there?” Sav asked, fear coming into his voice as well now.

“No, the salt will just dry his skin out more and make it harder to keep his temp down. At least that’s what Mom said when my sister got sick on vacation at the ocean,” Dee said quickly. “We’ve got to get him up to that pond we just found! Evie, Sav will be down to get you in just a few minutes, but we’ve got to deal with Joe right now.”

“I’ll be okay,” Evie said quietly. “Just take care of him!”

Sav and Dee lifted Joe, putting his arms over their shoulders again even as he struggled against some invisible torment. They didn’t take the time to worry about scratches and such, only pushed their way through the bush and bramble until they made it back up the hill to the pool.

“Help me get these clothes off him, Sav! That salt will hurt like a son of a bitch if it gets wet against his skin and it’s not gonna help get him cooled down either,” Dee said in a rush of words. She didn’t have the time to get embarrassed about seeing Joe’s naked body as Sav stripped off his jeans and underwear. Then they slid him into the water and Dee sat with his head in her lap. They laid him on his side so that the dirt couldn’t get into the wound on his back and Dee splashed water up on his face and shoulder to help speed the process up. As soon as the cool water hit his body, he calmed down and lay quietly against Dee’s leg.

“Damn it! If I hadn’t been up here goofing off, we could have gotten him up here sooner and avoided this,” Dee cursed. “Fucking selfish! I should have worried about them first, then taken care of myself!”

“You can’t blame yourself...”

“I do!” Dee said angrily. “If I’d waited til I’d taken care of Joe to get myself cleaned up, he wouldn’t be in this mess now!”

“I did the same thing, Dee,” Sav said quietly.

“But I started it! If I hadn’t already been in the water, would you have gone ahead and climbed in while your friend was hurt and needed you down below?” Dee asked hotly.

“I don’t know,” Sav said honestly. “But I might have.”

“Will you go down and get Evie?” she asked quietly. Sav nodded and stood up as he saw sobs start to tear through her body. As he headed back into the woods, he hear her cry softly, “I’m sorry, Joe!”

Sav made his way slowly back down the hill to where Evie was waiting. As soon as she saw him, she asked, “How’s Joe?”

“Dee got him in the water, trying to bring his fever down. She’s really hard on herself, isn’t she?” Sav asked.

“She can be,” Evie said quietly. “There’s this part of her that wants to be mother to the world and take responsibility for everyone in it. Especially me!” She chuckled and said, “She’s got a heart of gold, but it gets her walked on a lot.”

“Well, let’s see if we can get you up on your feet, eh, luv?” Sav said with a forced smile, changing the subject quickly. Evie put her arm around his neck as he leaned down and pulled her up to her feet. She put some weight on her bad leg and said, “Well, I can’t walk on it, but at least it seems a little better than it was yesterday.”

“That’s good,” Sav said as he leaned down and wrapped her arm around him better. They made a slow trek up the hill, stopping every so often so that Evie could rest. It took Sav nearly an hour to get back to where Dee waited with Joe still in her arms. He could hear her talking softly and then realized Joe was answering her. He settled Evie down nearby and walked over to them, kneeling down in front of Joe. “Mate, you just gave us a hell of a scare!”

Joe mumbled a reply, then closed his eyes again. Dee looked to Sav and said, “He’s pretty weak, Sav, but at least I managed to get him to drink some water. I think his temp is coming down a bit, cuz at least I was getting coherent mumbling out of him.” She looked around and said, “There are some things we’re going to need if we’re going to stay up here.”

“I’ll go down and get them,” Sav answered. “Just tell me what you want.”

“Well, first off, I need my purse. There’s a bottle of Tylenol in there and that will help his fever. And I’m dying for a cigarette!” She laughed. Then she looked up and saw him staring down at her. She shook her head slightly before continuing, “The blanket and Joe’s case will be a good start. He can’t put those clothes back on.”

“I’ll be back in a bit,” Sav said quietly. He started towards the forest, then looked back at Dee. She shook her head again and he took off, making his way quietly down the slope again. Evie was exhausted from her trip up the hill, so she laid down in the soft grass and let herself fall asleep within minutes. Dee looked around, studying the trees nearby. She hadn’t looked into the tree tops up here and was in for a pleasant surprise. Some of the trees had what looked to be coconuts in them and, off to one side, there were trees full of green bananas. Well, at least they would have some fruit to eat, she thought, as her stomach started to growl. She pulled Joe far enough out into the shallow water so that she could lay down and prop his head on her stomach. She drifted off to sleep waiting for Sav to return.

“Hey, lazy bums! I’ve got a surprise for you!” Sav laughed when he climbed into their clearing. Dee saw the bags she’d asked for and realized Sav was carrying something wrapped up in a shirt. He laid his burden down between the two girls and opened the shirt, revealing several crabs.

“How’d you catch those?” Evie asked groggily.

“Well, I spotted them coming up on shore and managed to find a rather pointy branch to stick them with,” Sav said with a smile. “So, let’s get these guys cooking!”

“Help me with Joe, first,” Dee said quickly. She pulled Joe out of the water completely and saw Evie blush as she realized he was naked. Sav handed Dee her purse and she got out the pills, spilling three of them into her palm. She gave Joe a gentle shake and watched as he opened his eyes a second later. “Joe, you’ve got to try to take these pills. They’ll help get your fever under control.”

Joe nodded weakly and tried to lean up unsuccessfully. Dee moved back under him, pulling him carefully into her lap again and holding his head up. She motioned to Sav and asked, “Is there anything in his case he can drink from?”

Sav dug around in Joe’s bag and came up with a small cup that Joe used when he brushed his teeth. Sav filled it up and brought it over to Dee. She managed to get the pills in his mouth one at a time and let him drink after each one. She could feel him shiver and said, “Pull his case over here so I can get some clothes on him, okay?”

Nodding, Sav moved the case to her side and let her dig through it, pulling out underwear, sweats and a t-shirt. Then she looked over at his back and said, “Damn, I wish we had a first aid kit! Or anything I could use for a bandage! I don’t want to put this shirt directly over the cut in his back.”

Sav was busy getting him into his underwear and sweats, but he looked up and said, “Maybe we can find something down below in a few minutes. We’ll just get him settled down on his stomach for the moment, then go look.”

“Sav, can you get Evie some water before we move Joe? She’s probably pretty thirsty too,” Dee said quietly. Sav went back to the pond and dipped out some water, taking it over to Evie who accepted it gratefully. Then Sav laid out the blanket for Joe and helped Dee get him moved. Dee’s knees almost buckled when Joe leaned towards her, trying to get a better look at her. Sav pulled him back up and said, “Um, mate, you can gawk at the beautiful women later. You’ve got to help us move you!”

Joe managed to get his feet under him and took a few weak steps to the blanket. Then he collapsed down on Dee, knocking her to the ground under him. Dee grunted as she took Joe’s full weight on her, then laid there for a moment. She wiggled out from under him and laid him on his stomach, saying softly into his ear, “Don’t try to roll over til we get your back bandaged, okay Joe?”

He nodded as Dee swatted a bug away from his wound. “Sav, move Evie over here to keep the insects off him for now, please.”

“My pleasure,” he said with a smile at Evie. Her heart skipped a beat as he leaned down and simply picked her small body up. He deposited her next to Joe and ran a hand over her hair, then laughed. “Guess you’ve got bug duty, luv!”

“Yes, sir!” Evie said with a mock salute. Dee and Sav pulled away from them and she asked, “You know anything about building a fire?”

“Um, yeah, the basics of it. But I’m no boy scout, so I don’t know how well I’ll do with it,” Sav said uncertainly.

“Okay, just get us as much dry wood as you can and try to get it started,” Dee sighed. “I’ve got to find something to use for Joe from that luggage down there.” She headed towards the woods, but Sav grabbed her arm and said hesitantly, “Dee, I....”

“Don’t, Sav,” she sighed. “We’ve got work that needs to get done, okay?” She smiled at him, then turned and walked into the woods as he stared after her. Sav took a deep breath and put her out of his mind as best he could, setting to work on the task she’d given him.

Dee stumbled down the path they were starting to wear in the forest. She found their first campsite with its stack of suitcases and bags and started sorting through them. She found several towels and another blanket before hitting the medical jackpot. Apparently, there had been a doctor on the plane and his bag had washed up with the other cases. There was alcohol, bandages, anti-septic ointment, several medications and even a few ace bandages inside. She set it beside the pile of towels and such, then kept digging. She ended up with quite a supply of aspirin, ibuprofen and Tylenol. It seemed like everyone was a afraid they were going to get a headache on vacation! She even found four bottles of muscle relaxers, which would be a god send for Evie. Apparently, people who vacationed in Barbados weren’t the healthiest lot, considering how much medication she found among the luggage. There was one bottle with a name that sounded very familiar. Keflex. Dee wracked her brain, then remembered it was an antibiotic that she‘d taken before. Thank God! And duty free shopping had been a blessing as well, giving them several bottles of wine, quite a few cartons of cigarettes and other little items. She left several cases unopened, figuring she’d have to go through them later. By the time she headed back up the hill, she was loaded with things they would be able to use.

Sav had managed to get a fire going after a good bit of hassle. Dee gave him an encouraging smile, then made her way to Joe and Evie. She pulled out the Keflex and a bottle of muscle relaxers, then went for water. “Here, Evie,” she said quietly. “I think these will help you feel a bit better.”

“Oh, God, thank you!” Evie said quickly, taking the proffered pills. She downed them quickly while Dee pulled out the supplies to clean Joe’s back. She poured the alcohol into the wound and Evie watched in horror as a weak Joe pulled up and backhanded Dee without knowing what he was doing. He caught her right across the eye and knocked her down to the ground. Evie screamed as Joe tried to turn over and apologize. Sav came running and yelled, “What the hell did you do, Joe?”

“It’s not his fault, Sav,” Dee said as she sat up, holding a hand over her eye. Joe was still trying to turn and see if she was okay, but she ran a gentle hand over his lower back and whispered, “I’m fine, Joe. I knew that shit was going to hurt, I should have been ready for your reaction.”

Sav could see the bruise and swelling already coming up by her eye and bent down to check her out. She pulled back and said, “I’m fine, Sav. Now that he’s awake, at least it won’t happen again! Right, Joe?”

“I’m sorry,” Joe mumbled. Dee went ahead and pulled out the antibiotics, giving Joe a dose now that he was awake enough to swallow them. Then she put the antiseptic ointment on his wound, being careful not to probe too deeply. Joe still moaned in pain but at least he wasn’t swinging anymore. Then she covered it over with gauze and taped it down. Sav hovered nearby, still concerned over Dee’s eye, as she managed to roll Joe over and sit him up. She maneuvered his shirt on over his head and laid him on his back. She moved to his head as he stared up at her. Running her hand lightly over his cheek, she whispered, “I’m gonna go ahead and take care of this head wound now, Joe. It looks like it’s healing up much better, but I don’t want to take any chances. Okay?”

He nodded weakly. Dee turned to Sav and said, “Can you go ahead and put those crabs in the fire? I’m starved.”

Sav turned away and went to the fire, but he was still worried about Dee. He knew Joe had a nasty punch and that had to hurt, but she wouldn’t let him check her out. She was too concerned about Joe to worry about herself at the moment.

She put the ointment on his head gently, then put more of the gauze over it. Joe’s eyes opened again as she worked and she heard him chuckle. He looked at the large shirt hanging off Dee‘s frame and asked, “United fan?”

“Actually, I think this belongs to you,” she laughed softly. “At least that’s what Sav said. Now you rest, I’ve got to take care of Evie. Finally!”

Joe closed his eyes as Dee went over to her friend and asked, “Wanna get that salt off?”

“God yes!” Evie sighed. Dee put her arm around the smaller woman’s waist and pulled her to her feet. “Don’t get to used to Sav carrying you around, little girl!” Dee laughed. “If we don’t get you moving, it’s gonna take longer for you to heal.”

“Ah, but Dee!” Evie whispered. “It was soooooo nice!”

Dee cast a regretful glance in Sav’s direction, staring at his back as she said softly, “I imagine it was.”

They made it to the water’s edge and Dee helped Evie get undressed and into the pool. The younger woman sat at the edge and cleaned away all the traces of salt from herself, struggling as she tried to use her bruised arm. Dee was prepared when Evie was done. She’d brought up a short set and underwear she’d found among the luggage below, knowing Evie needed to change clothes as well. The clothes were a bit big on Evie, but not near as big as one of Joe’s shirts would have been.

Sav flipped the crabs out of the fire and said, “I think they’re done, ladies.”

“Wonderful!” Dee said as she helped Evie back to the blanket. Sav took each crab, laid it on a rock at the side of the pond and smashed them open. Dee took the first one to Evie, who dug in hungrily. The second one she took over to Joe and tried to wake him up. She got him up on her lap carefully, still avoiding the bandaged area of his back, and got him to eat a few bites of the meat before he begged off as being too tired to eat. She felt his forehead and realized his fever was completely broken. With a sigh of relief, she laid him back on the blanket and got up. Evie was already done with her crab and Dee asked quietly, “You still hungry?”

“Yeah, I could eat a fucking horse!” Evie laughed.

Dee walked slowly over to the stone and saw two crabs still laying there. Sav was on his second one, still eating like there was never going to be another meal as he sat on a rock. She took another crab back to Evie, then sat down and finished the one Joe had started. Sav brought the final one over to Dee and said, “Here, you didn’t even get a full one.”

She ate a bit of it, then heard his stomach still rumbling. She shook her head and said, “I’m not that hungry, Sav. Here, you finish it, okay?”

“Are you sure, luv?” Sav asked quietly. Dee got up and wandered into the woods, looking around herself sadly. They really were trapped in a paradise, but Dee couldn’t help but wish she was back home. She finally found a fallen tree and sat down, letting her tears of fear and frustration come.

Sav found a bottle of wine among the things Dee had brought back up and managed to get it open, passing it to Evie first. She took a long swallow, spit out a bit of cork and gave it back to him. Then she looked up at Sav and said, “I’m getting worried about Dee. She’s trying to take care of all of us, but she’s not doing much for herself.”

“I can tell,” Sav said softly. “But she seems a bit too stubborn to let anyone help her out.”

“God yes, she is,” she answered with a laugh. “Guess we’ll just have to be ready when she finally admits she can’t do it all!” Sav nodded in agreement as he stared into the woods were Dee had disappeared.

It was getting close to nightfall when Dee returned, carrying an armload of dry wood. Sav was telling Evie about the album the band had just finished before they’d taken their break in Barbados, smiling sadly as he said that it was the best thing they’d done in years. “The record company will probably come up the big winners, now,” he said quietly. “Since none of us are there to make a cent off it.”

“Well, your families will get the money,” Evie replied quietly. “At least Paige will be able to stay home with Tyler rather than taking off on modeling jobs or some such.”

Evie could see the tear trails on Dee’s cheeks, but didn’t mention it as Dee sat down beside Joe and checked his temperature. She woke him carefully and got him to take a few more pills, then laid down behind him without a word. Staring up at the sky, she said softly, “I think we better sort out our sleeping arrangements. It’s going to be dark soon and the fire’s going to be our only light.”

Sav threw more wood into the fire to keep it going, then looked over at Dee. She’d gotten up and helped Joe closer to the edge of the blanket, making room for Evie and Sav behind him as she laid on the grass. Sav picked up the new blanket she’d found and helped Evie over to the makeshift bed. She laid down with her back to Joe and Sav laid down in front of her, wrapping her in his arms to keep her warm. Dee laid behind Joe and put her body against his, keeping off the night chill. They pulled the spare blanket over themselves as best they could and everyone finally managed to drift off to sleep not long after nightfall.

Joe woke shivering in the morning sunlight. He looked down and found a young looking blond girl snuggled in between Sav and himself and wondered who the hell she was. The last thing he really remembered was the plane crash. And a woman with long chocolate brown curls taking care of him. He tried to turn over and felt pain shoot through his back, then remembered that he’d been hurt in the crash. He grimaced as he turned over onto his back and looked around the clearing. Next to the pool of water there was a large stack of suitcases and assorted luggage. Then he looked back at the water and realized just how thirsty he was. His mouth felt like he’d been on a three day bender, so severe was the dryness. He got to his knees and was hit by a wave of dizziness that nearly knocked him back down. He really didn’t want to chance standing up, knowing he’d just end up on his ass, so he crawled slowly over to the water’s edge and laid down. He dipped his hand into the clear water and took a long swallow. Then he heard someone crashing through the brush behind him.

Dee stepped into the clearing loaded down with more cases. She set them carefully next to the others, then turned towards the blanket to check on Joe. But he wasn’t there. At that moment, she heard Joe’s voice say softly, “I wondered where my nurse had gone to.”

“I take it you’re feeling better, Mr. Elliott?” Dee asked with a soft smile.

“I will if you quit calling me Mr. Elliott,” Joe chuckled.

“Okay, Joe. Now, what are you doing over there?” Dee asked quickly.

“I was bloody thirsty!” he laughed. “And those lazy bums weren’t awake yet. Thought I might have dreamed you up, so I figured I’d have to get a drink myself.”

“Well, I’m no dream,” Dee said softly as she knelt beside him and helped him sit up. She put her hand on his cheek and said, “Good, looks like we caught that infection before it got any worse. You don’t have a fever now at least.”

Joe looked at her face and saw the black eye there. He lifted a weak hand to it and said, “Did you get that in the crash?”

Dee chuckled and said, “No, actually, you gave it to me when I was cleaning out that gash on your back.”

Stunned, Joe said, “God, I’m sorry, luv.”

“Don’t worry about it, the alcohol just hurt pretty bad when I pour it over the cut. You reacted to it rather badly and I wasn’t ready for it,” she said with a smile. “You’re not going to like this, but I’ve got to check it again, to make sure the infection is going away. Then you’ll have some lovely pills to take.”

Dee walked over to their stash of supplies and grabbed the ointment and alcohol, then settled in behind Joe. She lifted his shirt off over his head and ran gentle fingers over the muscles of his back, checking to see if there was any fever in his skin. It seemed clear, so she removed the bandages as gently as she could. He flinched as she removed the tape, then sat still as she looked over the wound.

“Joe, I need to use some more alcohol on this and it’s going to sting a good bit,” she said softly. She moved her leg into his reach and said, “You can squeeze on that if it hurts too much.”

“Thanks, luv,” he said softly, preparing himself for the pain. She poured the fluid over the cut and heard his sharp intake of breath. He grabbed her calf and squeezed it, trying to get past the pain. Her hand ran over his back, soothing him as best she could. When she felt him release her leg, she got out the ointment and spread it over his wound carefully, then replaced the bandage. She ran her hand over his strong back one last time, that helped him get back into his shirt. He moved slowly over to a rock and leaned back against it as she got his medication. She brought him some more water and the pills, then watched as he took them.

“I’ll bet you’re tired again, right?” she asked quietly.

Joe nodded and said, “But somehow I don’t think I can make it back over to that blanket. Damn, I hate being weak!”

“I’ll help,” she answered, and leaned down close to him. He put one arm around her neck and used the other to push up on the rock, slowly making his way to his feet. She was ready as he leaned heavily on her shoulder. They made their way carefully over to the blanket through Joe’s wave of dizziness. She laid him down gently on the blanket as Sav woke up and looked around. “Morning, Joe!”

“Morning, ya bum! Had to get my own water til this lovely young woman came to my rescue!” Joe said with a soft laugh. She ran her hand over his head, checking his bandage quickly. Then, before either of them could say another word, she was gone, back into the forest.

“Who is she?” Joe asked finally.

“Her name’s Dee and she’s been a big help keeping us going,” Sav answered slowly. He motioned down to the girl between them and said, “This is Evie. She got banged up in the crash as well, but at least she hasn’t been completely helpless like some people I know!”

“Yeah, poke fun at the invalid,” Joe said with a chuckle. “Course, that’s one hell of a nurse I’ve got.”

“Yeah, she is,” Sav answered softly. He looked around and saw the luggage piled high by the pond and sighed, “I could have helped her with that, damn it!” He got up and walked over to the pond, taking a quick drink before he saw the other pile by the luggage. There were coconuts and some other fruits that she’d gathered up that morning before starting on the cases. On there were four crabs laying dead beside the fruit.

Sav stoked up the fire from its embers and once it was blazing hot, put the crabs into it to cook. The coconuts were a different matter. They were hard as hell to crack. He bashed one over and over again with a rock until it finally cracked. Evie was awake after all that noise, so he handed her half and let her have some of the coconut milk, giving the other half to Joe. She pulled at her large arrowhead pendant and Sav watched as a small sharp knife emerged from its sheath at her neck. She dug into the meat and handed a chuck of it to Sav, then tore some out for herself. When Joe finished the milk, Evie passed him the knife and let him get at the flesh of the fruit himself.

Dee staggered back up the hill with more cases and a couple more of the crabs and looked around at the three eating on the ground. She smiled over at them, glad to be able to make things a little better for a while. Sav had taken the crabs that she’d originally left for them out of the fire, so Dee threw the new ones in and turned to walk away. Then she heard Joe say, “Um, hey nurse, I think I need a little help over here.”

She walked quietly over to them and said in a concerned voice, “What’s wrong, Joe?”

“It’s not for me. See, there’s this woman I know that’s working herself to the bone and I really hate to see her do that,” he answered with a laugh. “Would you please sit down and eat something!”

“Yes, sir!” she said with a smile. She plopped down on the ground next to him just as Sav brought over the crabs. They all dug in hungrily, but Sav found himself looking at Dee far too often. She laughed and joked with Joe and did give Sav the occasional smile, but only the friendliest of looks. She treated both of them more like brothers than strangers or potential lovers. It was then that Sav realized she was very serious about not letting anything happen between them again. He sighed regretfully and went back to his food.

Evie saw Sav’s look and wondered what was going on. Was he interested in Dee? Her hopes fell until she realized that Dee didn’t seem to return his interest. That was odd, because Dee had always been a big fan of his. She wanted desperately to ask Dee what was going on, but couldn’t with Joe and Sav around.

They finished their meal and Dee looked at Sav, saying, “Can you get Evie off her butt and moving for a while? It’s the only way she’s gonna get any better.”

“Sure,” Sav said, smiling down at Evie. Her heart dropped into her stomach with that smile. How could Dee NOT be interested in him? Dee got up and headed back down to the beach. Evie saw both men follow her down with their eyes and sighed in frustration. Then Sav turned to her and said, “How bout a little walk around the pond?”

“Sure,” Evie answered quietly.

Dee came back a couple hours later with a real treasure. It appeared that someone had been shipping home some beef jerky and fruit from the island. It was a huge box, loaded with pineapples, passion fruit, golden bananas and other things. Dee had barely managed to drag it up to the pool. Dee kept everyone away from the meat, saving it for when the fruit was gone, but they all dug into the rest of the package.

The fruit lasted them a few days before Dee started scavenging the island again. She changed Joe’s dressing on his wounds every day and was pleased with the way they were healing. And deep inside, Dee knew she was worrying about him far to much for it to just be plain concern. There was just something about Joe that drew her to him like a cat to catnip. And Joe still hadn’t recovered one hundred percent, which kept Dee worried about him for quite some time.

Dee seemed to be avoiding everyone, hiding away on the island or working herself to the bone to make things more comfortable. Everyone was getting worried about her now, hoping she didn’t hurt herself or get too worn out. Joe would panic if it got close to dark and she wasn’t back yet. He wanted to spend more time with her, but the only time she stayed in their encampment was at night when everyone was ready to go to sleep. She would come in, tired and dirty, and climb into the blankets next to Joe. Most of the time, she was asleep before anyone could even talk to her. And some nights, Joe just found himself staring down at her for hours in the firelight, wondering why he thought she was so damned intriguing.

They’d been on the island for nearly two weeks when she woke one morning with Joe’s arms around her. She sighed at her folly and snuggled back against him, even though she knew it was a mistake. But Joe was still to weak to try to start anything, so for the moment there really wasn’t any risk.

When she woke up, she saw Sav and Evie walking into the woods holding hands. They looked like a pair of teenagers and Dee smiled at the thought. Without thinking, Dee turned into Joe’s body and let herself drift back to sleep again.

Sav and Evie explored around the island, though they kept their walk short for Evie’s sake. Her leg was healing up finally, as was her arm, but Sav didn’t want to wear her out. They sat down on a rock and looked out over the ocean. They talked for a while as they watched the sky. Then Evie decided she didn’t feel like playing around anymore. She sat up and kissed Sav gently, then pulled away wondering if she’d just made a huge mistake. Sav looked down at her and smiled, saying, “That was nice, luv. May I have another?”

“Certainly,” Evie said as he leaned down to her again. His lips met hers as she wrapped her arms around his neck. His lips trailed down her throat as she turned to look out at the ocean. She had barely noticed it, but something wasn’t right with the sky. Just at the edge of the horizon, there were dark blue clouds coming into view. She pushed Sav away and turned to look at it full on. Confused, Sav said, “What’s wrong, luv?”

“Sav, look over there! Look how dark it is!” she said softly.

“Fuck, that looks like a storm coming our way!” Sav exclaimed. He pulled Evie up and said, “We’ve got to let the others know what’s coming!” They hurried back to the camp and found Joe and Dee still asleep. Evie called Dee’s name and she sat up quickly. There was something wrong from the tone of Evie’s voice. Evie said quickly, “Dee, we think there’s a storm coming up! The sky is getting awfully dark in the distance.”

“We’re going to have to move everything. I found a cave when I was exploring last week, so we can hide in there, I guess,” Dee said hurriedly. She turned over and shook Joe gently, explaining what was happening to him. Then she stood up and started telling everyone what they needed to do. Evie headed off, trying to gather as much food as she could carry. Dee showed Joe where the cave was and they started carrying as many of the cases in as they could. Sav started dragging in their firewood and started a firepit in the middle of the floor. Lucky for them, the entrance of the cave went up instead of down, so water wouldn’t run into it. And it was big enough to get most of the suitcases into and still leave them enough room to sit or lie down. The sky overhead was getting dark and rain was beginning to fall just as they got the last of their things into the cave. Dee sat at the entrance on a rock, watching as the rain got harder by the moment. Joe came down and sat beside her, saying, “Sorry to interrupt your privacy, but they were talking and I kinda felt like a fifth wheel.”

“That’s okay,” Dee said quietly. They sat silently and watched the ocean. The wind was whipping around outside as the storm’s fury picked up. Dee moved back into the cave a bit, trying to stay out of the rain, and found herself up against Joe. He put an arm around her as they watched the storm blow into a hurricane. She finally laid her head back against his shoulder and simply stared out over the ocean until Joe realized she’d fallen asleep in his arms. He shifted into a more comfortable position and let himself drift off to the sound of pouring rain and thunder all around them.

A while later, Sav put a hand on Joe’s shoulder and said, “Come on, mate. Get your ass inside here before you both get sick.”

Joe gave Dee a gentle shake and said, “Let’s head in, luv. It’s getting a bit cold out here!”

Dee nodded groggily and let Joe lead her into the cave again. But she was still very tired, so she laid down by the fire and went back to sleep within minutes. Joe looked at Sav with worried eyes and said, “I think there’s something wrong with Dee, mate. She’s been really tired all day.”

Sav put his arm around Evie and said, “Well, this storm has made things a bit stressful for all of us and she’s taken on a lot of that stress for herself. I’ve told you how she watched over you while you were hurt so badly. And she was worried about Evie here as well. She’s worked herself to the bone trying to make things better for us and it’s finally catching her.”

“You know, she’s lost a bit of weight as well,” Evie said, getting a bit concerned herself. She looked over at her friend and wondered if the stress was the only thing wrong or if there was another problem. Then she saw Joe slip over behind Dee and put his arms around her gently as he went to sleep as well.

The storm passed off two days later, only to be followed by another a few days later. Over the next few weeks, they endured storm after storm in what was turning into the worst hurricane season the Atlantic had ever known. They had enough time between storms to go out and look for food. It was plentiful on the ground as the high winds knocked coconuts and the like to the ground. Dee would take off as soon as she could, often bringing back crabs or small fish that she’d learned to catch in the shallow waters. Joe and Sav would offer to come with her, but she always said she preferred to fish alone. Joe would watch her walk away and wonder why he never had the guts to simply follow her. He knew he was falling for her, but she never gave him the chance to tell her what he felt. There was no one else quite like her, Joe was certain of that. She fascinated him to no end. But the only time he was allowed to get close to her was at night, when she would finally let him hold her as she slept.

Joe woke alone in the cave early one morning just after another hurricane had passed. Sav and Evie were both gone, as well as Dee. Joe didn’t want to intrude on the little time Sav and Evie were getting alone, knowing the cave was getting a bit cramped for all of them after so long together. Joe and Sav were used to living out of each others pockets, but the girls weren’t. So Joe headed down to the beach, thinking perhaps he might catch Dee alone for once. He found her on their path down, kneeling down as if she’d been sick. Her head snapped up as Joe’s foot broke a twig. She looked up at Joe guiltily and said, “Sorry, I’m just not feeling well.”

“You haven’t been feeling well a lot lately, luv,” Joe said softly.

“I’m fine,” she said roughly as she got to her feet. “Don’t worry about me!”

“Well, I do,” Joe said quietly, running his hand gently over her face. “Dee, you’ve got to know how I feel about you...”

“Joe, you’re sweet,” she said softly. “But this just can’t happen now. Not like this. If we were back home and you told me that, I’d be more likely to believe it. But here, you’re just out of options because Evie’s with Sav.” She turned away from him and headed down to the beach, leaving him stunned on the path.

He started to head back up the path to the cave, then got angry and decided to confront Dee. He couldn’t let her think that he felt something for her just because she was the only one on the island. He stormed down to the beach and found her sitting on a rock, staring out over the ocean. He could see the tears in her eyes and wondered if he should bother her. But he was still angry at what she’d said, so he walked over to her and said, “How dare you tell me what I’m feeling!”

“Go away, Joe,” she said softly. She never even looked at him.

“What’s going on, Dee?” he asked after a minute of watching her. The anger was gone from his voice, replaced by his concern for her. “When we first got here, you acted like Ms. Mommy to all of us, but now you act like you don’t want any part of our little group. Did someone do something to piss you off?”

“No, they didn’t,” she answered quietly. “I guess I’m just scared. I’m getting more scared everyday, actually. Evie and I got what the girls on the internet always dreamed about. Being stuck on a desert island with you and Sav. But I’ll be honest, I’d give anything to be home right now. I don’t know what I’m going to do if...” She stopped and sat in silence.

“Dee, I don’t know a lot about women’s stuff, but I’ve got to ask this. I’ve noticed a few changes in you lately. You’re moody, you’re sick all the time and, well, I don’t know how to put this delicately, but your chest is getting bigger.” Joe sat quietly for a moment, then asked, “Is there a possibility you could be pregnant?”

She covered her face with her hands and started to sob. Joe slipped his arm around her and asked quietly, “Would it be your ex-husband’s? I know you said you’d just split up, but it‘s not unheard of....” He paused when she shook her head. “Someone you met on the island?” She shook her head again. “Well, it doesn’t matter. We’ll all be there for you, luv.”

“Even if it’s Sav’s?” she asked softly through her tears. Her chin rested on her hands as she looked away from him.

“Sav’s?” he asked incredulously. “How could it possibly be Sav’s. You two never even seemed interested in each other. Well, at least, you never seemed to like him that way!”

“It happened one time, the first day we were here on the island. I know you don’t remember this, but it was right before your temperature went up so high we had to put you in the little pond,” she explained quietly. “We’d just found out we might actually live and I think we both got a little carried away with that. I told him after it happened that it couldn’t happen again, that the last thing we needed on this island was a bunch of fighting about who was sleeping with whom. And I didn’t want Evie getting hurt in all this shit either. She had a real thing for Sav before she’d ever met him.”

“So you turned him away afterwards?” Joe asked in a shocked voice. Dee only nodded sadly. But Joe had to ask the next logical question. “How do you feel about him, Dee?”

“He’s a great guy, but no, I’m not in love with him or anything, Joe,” Dee sighed. “Guess that makes the thought of possibly being pregnant that much more bitter. I always wanted kids, but I wanted it to be with someone I loved, not with someone who I can only think of as a friend.”

“What about me,?” he asked quietly.

“What about you, Joe?” she asked impatiently.

“How do you feel about me, luv?” he probed, needing to hear her answer. He had to know if his own feelings were in vain.

Dee sighed and said, “I can’t...I can’t talk about that, Joe.”

“Why not?” he asked.

“Because, this island, this situation, it’s not real,” she answered quietly. “If we were rescued tomorrow, you and Sav would go back to your lives, the studio and the road. And I’d go back to Ohio with a broken heart. I can’t do that, okay?”

“I wouldn’t hurt you, Dee,” he said softly. He reached up and turned her face towards him. The tears in her eyes hurt him, because he knew he was at least partially responsible for them. He sat down facing her on the rock and said, “You’re one of the most special women I’ve ever met. You took care of me when I was basically a total stranger. If not for you, I’d probably be dead right now. You’ve kept everyone going. You’ve been the one making sure we eat. I’ve never seen a woman stronger than you, luv.”

“Well, in the real world, it counts against me. Trust me on that fact,” she said with a bitter laugh. “Why do you think my husband left? I was too independent and he didn’t feel needed or wanted around me anymore.”

“Did you feel like he needed you?” he asked.

“No,” she replied, looking into his eyes for the first time.

“Well, I do,” he said softly. “I need you and I want you. I don’t know if I love you yet, because you haven’t let me get close enough to find that out. But I want the chance to see how I feel. Please?”

She nodded silently and let him pull her against his chest. Then she looked up and asked, “Even if I’m carrying your best friend’s child?”

“Even then, luv,” he whispered against her hair. He held her there on the rock for a long time before she said, “If we’re going to eat tonight, I’ve got to get busy.”

“Can I help you?” Joe asked quickly.

She gave him a smile and said, “Well, that depends on how patient you can be.”

His next words held a lot of meaning beyond fishing. He looked deep into her eyes and whispered, “I can be as patient as I need to be, luv.”

She nodded and said, “Okay, we’ll see about that, Joseph. For now, see those sticks over there?”

“Uh huh,” he murmured.

“Grab those and I’ll give you a spear fishing lesson,” she chuckled.

Joe proved to be as good at fishing as Dee was and they made it back up the hill with five good sized fish. Sav seemed to be taking on the cooking duties lately, so Evie finally cornered Dee and said, “Hey, got a minute?”

“Yeah,” Dee said with the first smile Evie had seen in a long time. They walked into the woods and Evie turned to Dee, asking, “How do you like Sav, Dee?”

“He’s a great guy! You’re lucky to have him,” Dee said, still smiling at her friend.

“You’re not interested in him at all?” Evie asked cautiously.

“No, more power to ya, girl,” Dee laughed. “Just be careful, okay. We’ve got enough problems without you getting pregnant!”

Evie eyed her friend and said suspiciously, “Like you being pregnant?”

“What gives you that idea?” Dee answered evasively.

“You leave us alone all the time, Dee, don’t you think we talk?” Evie replied quietly. “Joe’s been worried cuz you’re so tired all the time lately and all of us have heard you try to sneak off in the morning when you get sick! It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out!”

“Let me guess, you guys talked about this yesterday, right?” Dee asked quietly.

“Yeah, why?” Evie said quickly.

“Cuz Joe just asked me that down on the beach. And the answer is, I don’t know, okay,” Dee said in frustration. “It could be, but I don’t know.”

“How?” Evie asked desperately. “You and Jeff hadn’t slept together for months and I know there wasn’t anyone on the island, cuz we were together all the time then. Joe can’t have kids, so that only leaves one person it could be.”

Dee hung her head. She should have known Evie would figure it out rather quickly. She looked up at Evie and asked, “How did Sav react when you guys were talking about it?”

“He was pretty quiet and he seemed a bit shocked, actually,” Evie said. “He was asking about our time in Barbados, wondering if we’d met anyone there. And he asked about Jeff. The way he was acting kinda tipped me off that something wasn’t quite right there.”

Dee started crying and said, “I’m sorry, Evie. It only happened one time, I swear it!”

“When?” Evie asked quietly.

“The first day on the island. I found this place, around the pond, and decided to clean up before I came down for the rest of you. Only Sav found me and wanted to get a bath as well. We started goofing off and well, one thing lead to another and, um, well, we’ve got this situation now,” Dee said through her tears. Evie put her arms around Dee and said, “Well, we’ll just have to deal with it then, won’t we?”

“You’re not mad at me?” Dee said in astonishment. “I thought you’d be furious!”

“Dee, he doesn’t belong to me,” Evie said quickly. “And you said it happened a long time ago. How can I possibly hold that against you?”

“Thank you, Evie,” she said softly.

“Um, I think we need to tell Sav about this, though,” Evie said. “He’s got a right to know what’s going on.”

Dee panicked. Sav was the last person she wanted to talk to about this! How the hell was he going to react to the news that he might have another child on the way? Then she realized that it was only fair, since everyone else on the island knew already. She nodded quietly and let Evie lead her back to where Joe and Sav were waiting. Dee sat down as far away from the others as she could. With just one look at her face, Joe could see something was wrong. He walked over and sat down next to her, saying, “Everything okay, luv?”

“I hear I’ve been the topic of conversation when I’m not around,” she answered. She looked off into the forest and refused to turn towards Joe.

“We’re all just worried, okay luv?” he asked quietly. Sav brought over her food, then grabbed his own and sat down facing her. He said slowly, “Evie says you’ve got something to tell me, Dee.”

“Yeah, well, I hear you guys already have it figured out,” she sighed. “I may be pregnant. I don’t know for sure, but it’s possible.”

“I was afraid of that. I’m really sorry, Dee,” Sav replied, staring down into the grass.

“What are you sorry for?” Dee said shortly.

“I mean, what the hell are we going to do? There’s no way to get you to a doctor to have you checked out,” Sav answered. “And how the hell are we going to deliver a baby here? None of us know what to do!”

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to figure it out,” Dee snapped.

“I’m sorry I did this to you,” Sav mumbled. Joe wrapped an arm over her shoulders as she started to cry. She looked at Sav and said, “If we were anywhere but here, I’d probably be in heaven thinking about having a baby. But here...” she looked around and dissolved in tears as Joe held her close. Finally, she pulled away and said, “I’m tired, I think I’m going to sleep early tonight. I’ll see you guys later.”

She got up and walked away slowly. As soon as Joe finished his food, he headed after her and found her in their cave. He could see her staring up at the ceiling in the firelight. He slipped in and laid down beside her, pulling her unresisting body up against his and holding her close. She turned and laid her head on his broad chest, letting the tears come again. Joe held on to her as she cried herself to sleep with thoughts of what could go wrong giving birth there on the island.

Time went by on the island, but they’d lost track of it by now. In truth, nearly a month went by without them realizing it. Everyone was certain that Dee was pregnant now, even Dee herself. She couldn’t deny it any longer. She stopped going out alone as much. Joe was with her almost constantly ever since the day they’d talked on the beach. Dee slowly came to realize there was something else she couldn’t deny any longer. She was in love with him. She woke up early one morning and headed down to the shore alone, sitting on her favorite rock to think. Joe kept flooding into her mind. She didn’t hear the footsteps, only suddenly saw Sav sit down next to her on the rock.

“How you doing, luv?” he asked quietly.

“Well, aside from a good old fashion bout of morning sickness, I’m fine,” she laughed. Her hand came to rest on her still flat stomach as she turn to face him. “How bout you?”

“I’m fine. You know, Joe’s getting pretty worried about you, Dee,” he answered.

“Oh, what’s he worried about?” she asked curiously.

“You being pregnant. He’s afraid something might go wrong and he doesn’t want to lose you,” Sav answered, looking her straight in the eye.

“Well, so far you guys are stuck with me,” she chuckled. “You and Evie are quite the team, ya know? She hit me with the ‘Joe’s worried’ thing last night.”

“Well, he is!” Sav said in a exasperated voice. “You’d think it was his baby, not mine!”

“Let him worry about the baby, Sav. He won’t ever get that chance again,” she said sadly.

“He’s not so much worried about the baby, luv,” Sav said quietly. “He’s worried if you’re going to be okay.”

“Really?” she asked uncertainly.

“Can’t you see what’s going on, Dee?” Sav asked.

“What do you mean?”

“He’s in love with you, you little dolt,” Sav chuckled. “Don’t tell me you can’t see it!” Dee looked at Sav in surprise. Joe, in love with her? He’d told her before he wasn’t sure how he felt about her. Sav saw the look on her face and said, “You didn’t know?”

“No, I didn’t,” she said quietly.

“How do you feel about him, Dee?” Sav asked quickly.

“I, um, well, I , uh...” Dee tried to answer, but couldn’t. She knew how she felt, but just wasn’t sure what to say to Sav’s direct question. She looked away as Sav said, “You care about him, don’t you?”

“Yeah, you could say that,” she said with a secretive smile.

“Do you love him, Dee?” Sav probed.

She nodded quietly but couldn’t say the words. Sav smiled down at her and said, “That’s wonderful, luv. But did you ever think of telling him that? It would probably make him pretty happy to know it.”

“I don’t know how to,” she sighed. Then she changed the subject on him abruptly, asking, “So, what’s going on with you and Evie.”

“I have no idea,” he answered as honestly as he could. “She’s a sweet girl, but I keep thinking about how fucking young she is. I’m old enough to be her father!”

“So what? My step-mother is seventeen months older than me, Sav! And I’ve never seen my father happier,” Dee laughed. “At least she wouldn’t have to deal with the kind of fights my Dad and sister have had!”

“Well, to be honest, she seems pretty reserved about the whole deal,” Sav sighed. “I’m not quite sure what she’s thinking.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll figure it out eventually,” Dee said, patting him on the shoulder reassuringly. “Ready to head back up now?”

“Yeah, guess so,” Sav answered quietly, though Dee could see he was deep in thought now. They walked slowly up the hill, only to be greeted by two nervous stares when they broke into the clearing. Joe’s face clouded over and before Dee could say a word, he turned and took off up the hill. Evie looked ready to cry, but she went back to what she was doing and ignored both of them. Dee and Sav exchanged a bewildered look, wondering what the hell was going on with them.

Dee wasn’t sure what to do. She could see something was wrong, but wasn’t sure what it was. Then it hit her and she chuckled. She pulled Sav off to the side and said quietly, “They think we, well, we were, um, well, you know!”

“Ah fuck,” Sav said in a exasperated tone. “Now what?”

“Leave me alone with Evie for a minute. Head down to the beach again or something, okay?” she answered softly. Sav nodded and took off down the hill again. Dee walked over to Evie and said as casually as she could, “Hey, what’s up?”

Evie turned teary eyes to her and said, “Nothing, Dee.”

“Then why do you look ready to cry, Evie?” she said quickly. Evie shook her head silently and went back to what she was doing. Dee finally grabbed her arm and sat her down, saying, “Tell me what the hell is bugging you!”

Evie stared at the ground and said, “Dee, are you and Sav getting together? I mean, you were down there for an awfully long time and you are having his baby. And I know I’m way to young for him, so I guess I understand why he would chose you over me...”

Dee rolled her eyes and said, “You wanna know what just happened?”

“I’m not sure,” Evie said uncertainly.

“God, Evie, we sat down there talking about Joe!” Dee chuckled. “Sav wanted to tell me something about him, that’s it!”

“Really?” Evie asked hopefully.

“Really,” Dee smiled. “Sav’s a great person, but he’s more like a brother than a lover, okay? I’m not interested in SAV. I’ve got too many other things on my mind right now!”

“I know, with the baby and all,” Evie answered quietly. “But Joe was all in a fit, wondering if the baby was going to pull you and Sav closer together and...”

“Joe started this?” Dee asked quietly.

“Yeah, he did,” Evie answered. “He started saying that the baby was Sav’s and maybe Sav wanted the mother as well. And he started getting all upset, saying that he guessed it was only right for the two of you to be together now. He was damn near crying when he said that.”

“Fuck!” Dee exclaimed. She started to head up the hill after him, then remembered something else she’d wanted to say. “Evie, how do you feel about Sav?”

“God, he’s wonderful! But, well, I guess I’m just too young for him, cuz he treats me more like a little sister than anything else. I kissed him once, but that’s all the further things have ever gotten,” Evie said sadly.

“Hmm, well, I guess we’ll deal with it later,” Dee said. “Don’t worry, we’ll get it fixed up! But for right now, I’ve got to talk to Mr. Elliott.” With that, Dee headed up the hill. She found Joe sitting in the grass, staring out over the ocean. He looked so lonely Dee nearly started to cry for him. Instead, she walked softly over behind him and knelt down, running her hands over his strong back. He looked over his shoulder at her sadly, saying quietly, “Hello.”

“Hi,” Dee said as she sat down behind him. She put one leg on each on each side of his body and laid her head down on his back without saying another word. Her arms wrapped around him and she felt him stiffen at her touch. He hadn’t worn a shirt that morning, so Dee kissed his shoulder softly and heard him sigh. His hands closed over hers as he whispered, “Dee?”

“Yeah, Joe?” she said quietly. He sat wordlessly for a while, then said, “Nevermind, it’s not important.”

“You sure?” she asked softly.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” he whispered. They sat for a long while like that as Joe looked out at the water. Then he said, “It’s beautiful here, you know that?”

“Yes, it is,” she answered.

“If not for the baby, I think I’d want to stay here forever,” he continued. “No worries, only looking for the basics, no stress. It’s so peaceful here!”

“I know, and the company’s not all that bad either,” Dee said with a smile.

“I know, Sav, right?” Joe asked and Dee heard his voice catch.

“Hmm, well, he’s not bad either,” Dee chuckled, “but he wasn’t the one I was thinking of.” Then she changed the subject quickly and said, “You need to get off the island to do something about those roots, Joseph! You’re getting pretty dark in the hair again. Pretty soon your hair is gonna be as dark as mine!” She ran her hand softly over his hair then laid her head back down on his shoulder.

They sat there for a while, then Joe said, “Are you sure Sav’s not caught your eye, luv?”

“There’s someone blocking the view of him, Joe,” she said softly. “I can’t take my eyes off someone else, okay?”

“But, you two are going to have a baby and everything,” Joe said softly, still uncertain of what she was saying. And Dee was too afraid to come out and say what she meant. So instead she said, “Yeah, that was a lesson in biology. Never mess around with someone you don’t love or you could end up in trouble. Like I did.” She stood up slowly and started to walk away, then finally worked up the courage to say what she’d been thinking all along.

“I love you, Joe,” she said softly, then started down the path towards the others. Joe sat in stunned silence, watching as she walked away from him again. He couldn’t believe what he’d just heard, it wasn’t sinking in. He thought to himself, “Did she really just say that she loved me?”

Dee walked nervously down the path and found Sav and Evie sitting by the fire and talking. She went over and chatted with them for a while, constantly eyeing the path she’d just come from and wondering if she’d just made the biggest mistake of her life. Eventually she got quiet and Evie wondered just what had happened when she found Joe. Dee stood up and announced that she was going for a walk, then headed off into the forest without another word.

She meandered through the trees, not knowing or really caring where she was at for the moment. The island wasn’t that big, so there was no way she could actually get lost for long. She stared out at the ocean as she walked and never saw the small hole in front of her until she was already falling into it.

Landing with a thud, Dee looked around in dismay. The hole was only about six foot wide, but it was about eleven foot deep. There were no roots or anything she could get a hand on to climb out, just about a foot of water in the bottom of the hole. After several attempts to get out, she finally gave up. But she knew that no one would simply stumble on her unexpected prison. The hole had pretty well blended into the ground. She took off her shirt, which was actually another United jersey of Joe’s, and managed to throw it up to the edge of the hole, then sat down to wait and see if the others would find her.

Joe came down a while later and Sav could tell by the look on his face his black mood was gone. Joe looked around the clearing and realized that Dee wasn’t there. Walking over to the others, he said quietly, “Um, where’s Dee at? Looks like we’ve got another storm coming in and I wanted to talk to her in private before it hit.”

Sav and Evie jumped up at the mention of a storm and starting getting their things together to head for the cave as Sav answered, “She went for a walk, that’s all. I’m sure she’ll be back before it starts to rain. Can you help us get the food and things back into the cave?”

“Yeah,” Joe said with a nod. They spent the next couple of hours making sure they had all the food, wood and water they needed in the cave. Joe kept scanning the woods, knowing Dee would never stay away when there was work to be done. They got the last of the stuff stashed and Sav saw Joe heading for the woods.

“Where do you think you’re going, Joe? It’s going to start raining any second!” Sav yelled over the wind.

“You know Dee, mate! She’s never stayed out in a situation like this!” Joe hollered back. “I need to find her before this gets any worse.”

“Fuck, we better all go look then!” Evie said loudly. They all headed off in different directions, scanning over the island for an hour with no luck. The rain was pouring down when Sav ran into Evie first and said, “I haven’t see any sign of her!”

“Me neither!” she said over the wind. “Wonder if Joe’s had any better luck?”

Joe was searching frantically for Dee. He combed every inch of his section of the island without managing to find a trace of her. Slowly, he made his way back to the clearing near the pond and found Evie and Sav trying to figure out what to do next. Sav turned to Joe and said, “The lighting is starting, mate. We’ve got to get under some cover!”

“I can’t leave her out there, Sav!” Joe cried. “She’s got to be lost or hurt. I can’t abandon her!”

Evie grabbed Joe by the arm and said, “Do you really think Dee would want you to risk your life to save her? She fought too hard to keep you alive, Joe!”

Joe shook her hand off and screamed, “I’m not letting her stay out there alone, Evie!” Before Sav or Evie could stop him, Joe took off into the woods again. He tore through the brush, not even noticing the scratches he got from the thorns in it. The wind whipped around him, blowing him into trees and down to the ground several times. There was a loud crack and Joe barely managed to dodge a large tree branch that came crashing down just where he’d been standing a second before. He rolled out of the way and landed up against another tree.

He sat against the tree and tried to think of any place Dee could be. He was running out of ideas as he watched the waves crash against the shoreline. His tears mingled with the rain that poured down on him as he stood up and started walking again.

The sky was a menacing dark gray as Joe looked out over the turbulent ocean. A nasty gust of wind knocked Joe into another tree and that’s when he saw the jersey. Snagging it down from the tree branch it had blown into, he recognized it immediately as what Dee had been wearing earlier. As he looked over it, he realized there wasn’t any blood on it or rips through the fabric. He held the wet material to his chest, wishing it was Dee instead. Slipping the shirt on over his bare chest, he looked fearfully over the small cliff he was standing on . It wasn’t a large drop and he was starting to get splashed by the waves from the ocean as well as being soaked by the rain. What if Dee had gone swimming without realizing the storm was coming? He didn’t see her body anywhere and let out a cry of relief.

He looked all around himself in frustration. She’d been here earlier, where the hell was she now? Joe couldn’t take anymore and started screaming her name at the top of his well trained lungs. From the side, he heard a soft cry in return. The wind made it difficult to tell exactly where it had come from. He yelled her name again and heard her voice calling back to him.

“DEE! WHERE ARE YOU??” Joe cried.

He couldn’t understand the wind muffled reply, but he got a better idea of the direction from it. He looked ahead in the gray murky light and saw something strange. When the waves hit the shore, most of the water was draining back down towards the beach. But there was one small area that it didn’t. The water just seemed to disappear. He made his way towards it and realized it was a small pit in the ground. He called for Dee again and heard her reply weakly, “I’m down here!”

Joe threw himself down beside the hole and saw Dee standing chest deep in the frigid ocean water that had washed into her confining cell. Her skin was nearly blue from the exposure. Joe looked down at her and yelled, “I’m here, Dee!”

“Thank God,” she said through chattering teeth. Another wave crashed against the shore and Joe watched as more water poured into the hole, leaving Dee nearly up to her throat in it. Joe reached a hand down to her, but she wasn’t tall enough to get up to it. She tried to stand up on a rock she’d once been sitting on and stretched up him. But just as their hands touched, Dee slipped and went under water. Joe screamed her name as another wave crashed into the pit. She didn’t come up right away and he started to panic. What if he found her just in time to watch her drown?

The water was over her head now as she surfaced, trying her best to keep her head up. A second wave came in, leaving her unable to touch the stone without going under. Joe’s tears of fear and frustration were streaming down his face as he stretched out to her again, still unable to reach her. He could see from the look in her eyes that Dee was too cold to last much longer. He looked out over the beach quickly and saw a wave heading straight for them. There was only one thing Joe could think to do now.

Dee looked up at him, her terror-stricken eyes goading Joe to the only action he had left. He jumped down into the pit with her. Taking her in his arms, he held her close as the wave poured more water into the pit. It was almost past Joe’s chin as well now. He dove under and grabbed Dee’s kicking legs and lifted her up. As he stood up, Dee reached for the edge and started to pull herself out of the hole. Joe pushed her as hard as he could and watched her scramble weakly over the lip of the pit. Then he looked around, wondering what he’d just gotten himself into. She was far too tired to pull him up by herself. But she stretched her hand out to him, trying to get him out anyway. When he couldn’t reach her, she leaned up and looked around. To the far side of the hole, there was a tree root coming up from the ground. It was only about three foot from the opening. She crawled around to that side and lay on her stomach into the hole as her knee braced against the root.

“Joe, you’re going to have to pull yourself up!” she screamed. “I’m not that strong!” Their eyes met and Dee nodded to him, pleading with him to get out. Grabbing her arm, he pulled as hard as he could and Dee’s arm took his full weight almost immediately. Her shoulder dislocated, but she never once told Joe to give up. He nearly let go when he heard her scream in pain, but she begged him to keep going. As soon as he could reach the edge of the pit, he grabbed it and let go of her.

Dee passed out just as Joe got up on the grass again. He pulled her upper body out of the hole and held her against his chest. She didn’t even open her eyes when he checked her dislocated shoulder. He closed his eyes and hoped he didn’t hurt her too much as he popped in back into place. Her eyes came open and she screamed at the pain, then her tears started to flow.

“You little dolt!” Joe yelled. “What the hell were you doing way out here?”

“Just thinking,” she answered softly.

“What was so important that you damn near died over it?” he said angrily.

“You,” she whispered against his throat. She clung to him, holding on to consciousness by a bare thread as he said, “Damn it, woman! You almost died before I got to tell you I love you!” She gave him a small smile before he felt her body go limp against his.

He struggled to his feet still holding her body against his. There was no way she was going to survive this if he didn’t get her warmed up. The wind buffeted against them as he fought it, trying to get her back to safety. Branches were flying and trees coming down all around them when they got into the forest. He found a tree that was a little shelter against the storm and sat down beside it to rest a moment. Dee wasn’t a heavy woman, but the wind was making it extremely difficult for Joe to walk by himself. Much less carry her as dead weight.

“JOE!” Joe heard Sav’s voice rising over the wind as Sav screamed to find him.

“Over here, mate!” Joe yelled in return. A moment later, Sav came running through the bushes. When he saw Dee laying against Joe, he almost cried in relief. Then he saw how pale and blue she was and knew a second’s fear. Had Joe found her too late?

“Give her over to me,” Sav said quickly. “We’ll take turns carrying her til we get her back to the cave.”

Reluctantly, Joe let Sav take Dee from his arms and they walked slowly back to through their clearing and up to the cave. Evie had the fire inside going as they stumbled up into the entrance. She started grabbing out dry clothes as soon as she saw the three of them coming in. Sav stripped off his shirt and put on a dry one while Joe held Dee to his body, trying to warm her up again.

“Joe,” Evie said quietly, “we need to get her dry or she’s really going to get sick.” He nodded and took the clothes Evie held out for the two of them. He changed his own clothes as quickly as he could, then turned back to Dee.

“I’ll get her dressed,” Evie said as Joe reached for her, but Joe shook his head.

“I’ll do it,” he said softly. “Damn, I’m glad we were in the States before Barbados,” he said as he stripped off Dee’s sopping clothes and threw them off to the side. Then he got her into his own sweatshirt and sweats. He laid her down by the fire and pulled a blanket over her, then lay down behind her.

“Where was she?” Evie asked finally.

“She fell down in a hole and water was coming in on top of her,” Joe answered quietly.

“Damn, no wonder she’s so cold!” Evie said softly. Joe could feel Dee shivering despite the warmth of the cave and pulled her body as close to his as he could. As her body started to warm up, he could feel the beginnings of the fever he’d feared. He sat up and started rooting through the bag where Dee had stashed their medicines, finally coming up with a bottle of ibuprofen. Bringing her up against his body, he woke her up gently and whispered, “Luv, you’ve got to take these bloody pills before you get too deeply asleep.”

She shook her head, fighting him unconsciously. Thrashing around, he heard her murmur, “No, help me, Joe!”

“Shh, luv, Joe’s here!” he cooed. “I’m the one holding you, baby!” His words sunk in a moment later and Dee looked at him with cloudy eyes. She blinked hard, then leaned into him, saying, “I knew you’d come, Joe.”

“Of course I would,” he said softly. “I love you too much to lose you like that, Dee.”

“You love me?” she said wide-eyed. “Shhh, better not tell Jeff. He’d never believe someone loved ME!” Still shaking her head, tears started to run down her face. “Gotta enjoy things while we can, huh? We get home and you’ll be gone. POOF!”

“What’s wrong with her?” Evie whispered to Sav.

“Her temperature is up, just like the way Joe was fighting against air the first day we spent here,” Sav answered softly.

Suddenly, Dee pulled out of Joe’s arms and said angrily, “You can’t be the real Joe Elliott! He only goes for those supermodel’s, big tits and no brains! No way he’d be interested in someone as ordinary as me!” She started to stumble her way out of the cave, but Joe caught her. Turning on him, she hissed, “We all know you and Sav are just pretending all this, til you can get back to your models and whores. Well, I’m not a model and I‘m not a whore, even if I did act like one with Sav! Leave me alone!”

“Dee,” Joe said softly, though her words had stung the very core of him. Did she really think that little of him? “Please, don’t say that kind of thing!”

“Tell me you never went for a woman just because of her looks!” she yelled, though she was fading fast again. “Oh, wait, if they don’t look perfect, you just fix them! I’ve heard all the rumors about buying Bobbi’s tits and teeth! Well, I’m not a fixer-upper!” Joe backed away from the venom in her voice and Sav had to catch her before she took off into the storm again. He coaxed her into taking the pills and laying back down as Joe headed for the mouth of the cave. Evie sat with Dee while Sav headed out to talk to Joe.

He found Joe slumped down on a rock and crying. He put a gentle hand on his friend’s shoulder and said, “Joe, you know that was the fever talking, don’t take it too serious.”

“But what if she’s right about the man I was?” Joe cried quietly. “I was shallow, infatuated with a woman’s looks. Look what happened with Karla! I didn’t see the viper under that beautiful covering til it was way too late.” He hid his face in his hands as the tears continued to flow.

“It’s never to late to change your ways, mate,” Sav answered. “Do you think you would have run out in this storm after Karla? Or even Bobbi?” Joe shook his head silently, looking up and out over the churning ocean. “So what made you go out there after Dee?”

“Because, no matter where I look, I know there’s never going to be another woman like her,” Joe replied in a quiet voice. “I couldn’t lose her, you know what I mean?”

“Yeah, I do,” Sav said quickly. “You’re actually in love with HER, not lusting over a pretty face or a gorgeous body. Now, get back in there and take care of her, okay?”

Joe nodded and followed Sav back into the cavern. He sat down by Dee’s head and ran his hand gently over her hair as Evie and Sav laid down to go to sleep. Joe sat half the night thinking of the things Dee had said during the fever-wrought tirade, before he finally pulled her into his arms and fell asleep.

Dee was ill for three days after her time in the pit and Joe tended her as carefully as she had taken care of him when he was injured. While Sav and Evie left the cave during the day once the storm broke, Joe stayed inside it with Dee. Wiping her face when her fever was up and holding her close to his body when the chills took her over, Joe had a lot of time to think over the things she’d said. And he knew that some of what she said was right. He had chased only the women he found to be the most beautiful. But given that fact, he’d also paid for that folly again and again. They all had. But he couldn’t imagine life without Dee now no matter what she thought. Even if they did manage to make it back home again. Somehow he knew that her fiery spirit and independence were the exact things he needed in a woman who had to deal with his lifestyle. And his big mouth!

Joe was sitting in the cave reading a book they’d managed to salvage from the wreckage when she finally came to herself again. She watched him for a bit, until he actually looked over and caught her stare. Then he said softly, “So, feeling better, luv?”

“Actually, yes,” she answered as she tried unsuccessfully to sit up. Moving over to her, he pulled her up and helped her lean back on some of the cases behind her. Then he knelt beside her and looked deep into her eyes, saying, “How much do you remember about what happened?”

“I remember you dragging me out of that damnable hole, but not much after,” she said quietly. “Thank you. You saved my life out there.”

“Just returned the favor, luv,” he answered. “If not for you, I’d have died of some infection within a few days of landing on the island.”

Staring down at the ground, Dee whispered, “I don’t even want to think about that, Joe.”

He reached down and turned her face up to his, asking, “Why?”

Closing her eyes, she said softly, “Because, I couldn’t imagine what my life would be like without you!”

“I don’t want you to,” he answered softly. Sitting beside her, he put a gentle arm around her shoulders and said, “Do you remember what I said to you after you got me out of that hole?” Dee shook her head, refusing to look up at him. He leaned down and whispered into her ear, “I love you, Dee.”

Shocked, she turned towards him and looked up at him in surprise. He nodded slowly then lowered his head to hers, kissing her gently for the first time. Then he pulled her weak body to his chest and whispered, “I never want to live without you, luv, do you understand that? Even if someone was to stumble onto the island tomorrow, I wouldn’t leave unless you were with me.”

“What about Bobbi, Joe? She could still be waiting for you to come home,” she asked quietly.

“I doubt that,” Joe sighed. “We’ve been gone for probably three and a half, four months by now. She may have waited for a while, but she’s probably gone on to livelier pastures by now. Don’t get me wrong, I cared for Bobbi a lot, but no one in my line of work has any illusions left about women after a few years in the business. She’s got to have started moving on by now. When Steve died, Janie was dating again within a couple of months. The women who live with rock stars don’t tend to stay loyal much once the rock star is gone.”

Dee looked up at him sadly and said, “Actually, it sounds like a sad kind of life.” She ran a hand over his cheek softly and he smiled down at her, whispering, “You did that a lot when I was hurt, you know that?”

“What?” she asked, baffled by what he’d stated.

He took her hand and placed it back on his cheek, then turned his face into it and kissed her palm softly. “You know, Dee, sometimes I think that gentle touch of yours was the one thing that pulled me back when I nearly died. I had to know who that hand belonged to, cause she really seemed to care about me, not the rock star.”

“I do,” she whispered. Pulling her tightly to his chest, Joe sighed in contentment and said, “I’m starting to wish no one would ever find us. I’m actually happy here now.”

“Well, since we’ve still got this baby on the way, I can’t say I completely agree with you on that count, but I’m happy here with you,” she said softly. She snuggled in against his chest and they sat there for a long while, until Dee’s tired body demanded she go back to sleep again. Evie and Sav returned a while later and found the two of them curled up sound asleep.

A few days later, Dee woke before the others and crept out of the cave for a little time alone. She headed for her favorite spot on the beach and sat down on a rock, staring out at the ocean again. Joe found her there an hour later, still watching the water as the waves crashed against the shore. He sat behind her and put his arms around her, saying, “It’s beautiful, isn’t it.”

She nodded quietly and leaned back against him. Her long hair was braided down her back and he moved it off to the side, then whispered in her ear, “But not as beautiful as you are, luv.”

She chuckled at the compliment. Then she felt his lips brush gently over the skin on her neck. Her head laid back against his bare shoulder as she murmured, “I love you, Joe.”

“The feeling is mutual, luv,” he breathed over her skin. His hands ran over the slight swelling of her stomach and for a moment Dee was afraid he was going to pull away from her. But he just held her tighter and whispered, “Someone’s gonna start making themselves visible pretty soon, huh?”

“Guess so,” she answered. Then she felt his hand go under her shirt, rubbing the smooth flesh of her belly before moving higher, just below her breasts. Joe paused, but she wanted more suddenly. She wrapped her small hands over his and led him up, until his hands cupped her full breasts. He sighed happily, glad to know she wasn’t waiting any longer. He’d wanted her so long but never thought this would actually happen until now.

His thumbs ran gently over her swollen chest and he heard her gasp as he went over her nipples. He took them carefully between his thumb and index finger and felt a shiver run through her body. Her hands went to his knees and she realized he’d only worn shorts again that day. Tickling up his legs, she trailed her fingers through the hair she found there and felt a jump in his groin. Her hands went under his legs, tracing out the strong muscles. Kneading his flesh in her strong hands, she moaned quietly as he pinched at her nipples. His lips moved softly over the side of her throat as she rubbed her ass against the growing lump in Joe’s shorts.

He finally got impatient and tugged her shirt off over her head, letting his fingers trail up her back in the process. She shivered and he whispered, “Too cold, luv?”

“No, exactly the opposite, actually,” she said in a rough voice. His hands moved carefully over her back, massaging their way up to her shoulders before turning her to face him. He hugged her roughly to his chest, the hair tickling her breasts as he said hoarsely, “God, I’ve wanted this for so long, Dee.”

“So have I,” she whispered as her fingers tangled in his long hair. He brought his lips down on hers roughly, demanding entrance into her mouth. Her lips parted and their tongues danced together, running lovingly over each other. His movements became more urgent as he maneuvered her around until she was straddling his legs. His hands cupped her ass as he ground his body up into hers. Fingers dug into Joe’s back as they kissed. Then Dee felt herself being picked up as he murmured, “Damn rock isn’t the most comfortable place to continue this.”

She nodded wordlessly as he bore her down into the sandy beach. The sand was a million different textures against her skin, yet she noticed only Joe’s hands and mouth on her body. His mouth captured hers, his kiss insistent against her lips. Then he moved down her body, his lips trailing over her sensitive skin until he reached her nipple. She arched against him as his tongue teased the nub and his hands went under her body. His beard rubbed over her skin and caused her to let out a giggle. Joe looked up at her, puzzled, and said, “You know, luv, this isn’t the most appropriate time to laugh at me!”

“I’m sorry, your beard tickles!” she laughed.

He ran his hand over his chin and laughed, saying, “Well, sorry, we ran out of razors about two months ago!”

Putting a hand on the back of his neck, she said softly, “Don’t worry, I happen to like the scruffy look!” Then she kissed him soundly, erasing any doubts her laughter had brought on. He looked down at her and whispered, “Now, where was I?”

Guiding his head back to her chest, she said, “Um, I think you were right about here.”

“Oh, thank you ma’am,” he sighed, bending his head to her breast once more. But a moment later, she felt his hands run under her backside, tugging at the fabric of her shorts. He guided them off her body as she lifted her hips to help him. Then his hands ran back up her legs, parting them gently. Closing her eyes, she gasped as she felt his mouth replace his hands, running up her leg with his tongue. It parted the delicate outer folds of her sex and she shuddered as his tongue ran over her clit. Then it went lower, running over her slit and dipping into her body as she wrapped her fingers through his hair. He could hear her breathing get ragged as he worked his tongue into her. Then he moved back up to her hard nub, closing his lips over it as he felt the muscles of her legs tensing. Sucking up and down the hard flesh, Joe heard her whispered moan, “Oh my God, Joe, I’m gonna, gonna, oh God!”

Her world burst into a kaleidoscope of colors as her climax hit her. She slumped back into the sand breathlessly as Joe smiled up at her. Then he whispered, “God, I never knew how sweet you were, luv.”

Laughing weakly, she pushed up on the sand and pulled Joe up, getting him to stand up in front of her. She got up on her knees and pulled his shorts down roughly over his legs, needing to do for him what he’d just done for her. Her hand closed over his manhood, then she took it gently into her mouth. She reached around and took hold of his ass, guiding his movements into her throat. He moaned as her lips touched the base of his cock and it hit the back of her tight throat. She moved slowly up and down him, taking him in and out of her mouth carefully. His hands dug into her shoulders as she took him fully into her mouth again. She could feel his body readying for his release, though Joe was trying to hold back. So she reached under her mouth and fondled his balls gently, bringing another rough moan from his throat.

“Oh, damn, baby. You’re gonna make me cum if you don’t stop,” Joe groaned.

Pulling off him for only a second, she whispered, “I want to taste you, Joe. Please, cum for me!”

Hearing those words, he couldn’t hold back any longer. He thrust into her waiting mouth, burying himself in her throat just as his body gave way to a powerful orgasm he couldn’t stop. His body shook as his release poured into her mouth. Grabbing his hips, Dee held on until Joe nearly fell to the ground from knees that wouldn’t hold him up any longer. Then she licked every last drop of the fluids from him before pulling him down into her arms.

Joe laid on his back and pulled her over onto his chest where she started playing with the hair she found there. Her fingertips traced the muscles that had gained definition since they’d been stranded on the island. Joe’s hand ran over her hair as he said softly, “You’re fantastic, you know that, Dee?”

“Thank you, luv,” she said, then shook her head. She’d been around Sav and Joe so much, she was even starting to talk like them! Laying her head on his chest, she wrapped a leg over his body and snuggled against his naked flesh. Then Joe chuckled and said, “Hope Evie and Sav don’t happen to wander down here!”

“Let them! Maybe they’ll finally get some ideas of their own from it!” she laughed. She looked up at him and said, “They’d really be perfect for each other, if they could just get past the age thing!”

“Oh, no, Dee,” he laughed, pushing her head back down onto his chest. “No matchmaking! If anything’s gonna happen, let them be the ones to decide it!”

She sighed and said, “Oh, all right! But they’d be so good for each other!”

“Shh, woman, I’m not listening anymore!” Joe said quietly. She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow and said, “Oh, ignoring me already, huh? Have to see what I can do about that!”

Her tongue flicked out and swiped lightly over his nipple, bringing a surprised grunt from Joe. Taking in a deep breath, Joe closed his eyes and started humming as if he really was ignoring her. So she rolled over on top of him and fastened her lips over the small bud, licking and sucking at it for all she was worth. He groaned in resistance, but his body wasn’t into it. His cock jumped to attention again and Dee giggled as she moved to the other nipple. She lapped at the flesh with her tongue, tasting the salty sweat on his skin. Joe finally gave up and stopped his little game. He rolled her over on her back and landed on top of her, kissing her with renewed passion.

“Thought you were ignoring me, Joe?” she laughed against his lips.

“Like you’d ever let me,” he said in frustration. His throbbing cock ground into her thigh as he said, “Think you can manhandle me like that and not get punished for it?”

“Punished, huh?” she giggled.

“Yes ma’am,” he said as his hips moved between her thighs. Her eyes went wide as he entered her body. It had been so long since she’d had sex, it seemed her body had forgotten what it felt like to be with a man. Joe groaned, “Oh, fuck, Dee, you’re so goddamn tight!”

She could only moan as he buried himself inside her snug channel. He was far bigger than her husband had been and she could feel him reaching places that had never been touched before. She wrapped her legs around him as he whispered, “You feel so fucking good, luv.”

“Oh God, so do you, Joe,” she said breathlessly. Her hips bucked up against his as he drove carefully into her body. He had to be gentle, knowing that he couldn’t endanger the child she carried. If she stayed with him, this would be her only chance for a baby. He moved slowly and soon Dee was moaning against his throat as her body constricted on his. His green eyes met her brown ones as her body rushed into oblivion. He could see into her soul as she cried out his name. Her voice came out roughly as she said, “I love you, Joseph!”

“Oh, God, Dee, I don’t know if I can hold back much longer!” Joe gasped desperately. “I need you so much, but I can’t take this much longer.”

“I’m okay, Joe, don’t worry,” she murmured. “Take what you need, baby.”

“Are you sure, luv?” he whispered hoarsely.

“You’ve not going to hurt me, Joe,” she said quietly. She pulled his lips down to hers and kissed him, then said, “I want you to, baby.”

His movements became more frantic then, pounding into her body as she moved with him. She was on the brink again within moments. Then Joe moaned, “OH, Jesus, Dee, I’m gonna cum baby. You’re just so damn hot, so tight!”

“God, Joe, I’m going to...to...oh, fuck Joe I’m cumming again!” she hissed as her body gave way once again. This time, when her body clamped down on his, it drove him over the edge. He thrust into her one last time, then held her tight against his as he released into her. He kissed her gently and whispered desperately, “I love you, Dee, you’ve got to know that!”

“I do,” she replied quietly. “And I love you too.”

They held each other there on the sand for a long time. Then, finally, they pulled their clothes back on and headed back up the path hand in hand. Neither of them saw Sav sitting off to the edge of the beach where he’d watched the whole thing unroll in front of his eyes.

Sav leaned back against a tree and sighed. He’d shut the possibility of sex out of his mind for so long, he’d never even so much as done anything solo since that day in the pond with Dee. But now, his cock was rock hard and demanded relief. He squeezed it through his shorts, then gave it up as a bad job and pulled his shorts down. His hand ran over his length slowly as his mind wandered back to that day with Dee. His eyes half closed, he pumped his fist over his hard manhood roughly. He needed this release. He could almost feel the cool water of the pond as he moved. But when he closed his eyes, it wasn’t Dee’s face he saw. It was Evie‘s. He found himself imagining Evie’s warm mouth closing over him, her soft body against his. The fantasy progressed and he pictured himself laying over her, thrusting into her hot flesh. His body tensed as he climaxed, still dreaming of Evie.

When he pulled himself together, he looked up the path carefully. His mind was still stuck on Evie, but he couldn’t let Joe and Dee know that he’d watched them. He tried scrambling up the rocks behind him, but they gave way under his feet. So he cut across the path and made his way up the hill through the forest. Just before he came out of the clearing, he heard Evie and Dee talking not ten foot away. He stopped cold when he heard his name.

“Jesus, Dee, Sav won’t even come close to me!” Evie wailed. Sav froze and sat down on a stump nearby, listening to what they had to say.

“Oh, come on, Evie, it can’t be that bad!” Dee sighed.

“I just know he’s got the hots for you,” Evie said tearfully. “I mean, you’re older, smarter and he’s already slept with you!”

“Yes, I’m older. That doesn’t mean a hill of beans! And so what if he’s slept with me? I’m not the first one he’s slept with,” Dee said in frustration. “And I’m not any smarter than you, I’ve just had a little more experience when it comes to what we needed here on the island. And it doesn’t matter much if Sav does feel something for me, because I’m not about to turn my back on Joe for anyone. So stop thinking that way and try to get his attention a little more.”

“You think I haven’t been trying?” Evie said quietly. “But he acts like I’m his little sister, or worse yet, his fucking daughter! How am I supposed to get past that? Plus, he watches you all the time!”

“He’s just trying to look out for you! And if you didn’t make such a stink about being so young, he might just forget about it!” Dee said in exasperation. “As for watching me, I don’t know anything about that. But I’ve made it pretty plain that Joe’s the man for me.”

Joe walked over at just that moment and wrapped his arms around Dee. He’d heard what was said as well and looked down at Evie, saying, “Listen, Sav and I have talked about her. I know for a fact he’s not interested in Dee, okay? He’s just worried about her and the baby. It’s his child, after all.”

“Really?” Evie asked uncertainly. Sav couldn’t take anymore and finally came out of his hiding place. He walked over behind Evie and said, “Damn, my ears are burning. You guys weren’t talking about me by any chance, were you?”

Evie looked guiltily at the ground as Dee laughed and said, “I’ll never tell!”

Leaning down and kissing her, Joe said with concern, “How’s the baby after, well, you know?”

“The baby’s fine, Joe,” Dee laughed. “Now, let’s talk about that beard! It needs a trim or you’re gonna start looking like Tom Hanks in ‘Castaway‘!”

“Well, we are castaways, aren’t we?” Joe chuckled. Dee thumped him on the chest and he threw up his hands, saying, “All right, all right! I give. Go get your damn scissors and let’s get this over with!”

“Evie, could you go get me the scissors? We’ll trim this guy right up,” Dee giggled.

As Evie took off for the caves, Joe looked at Dee and said, “Just remember, you’ve got to look at me!”

Once Evie was out of sight, Dee turned to Sav and said, “You heard that whole conversation, didn’t you. And don’t lie to me, cuz I heard you come up behind us!”

“Yeah,” Sav said sheepishly. “Don’t know how to get it out of her head that I want you. She’s so convinced that I’m too old for her and that you’re the more logical choice, I never can get past it!”

“Then push your way past it, Sav,” Dee said finally, just as Evie was heading back their way. “You won’t regret it.” Sav nodded thoughtfully as Evie handed Dee the scissors and said, “So, what’s the topic of conversation on now?”

“Um, I’m trying to talk Sav into a bit of a trim as well,” Dee said as Sav chuckled. “Just the beard, luv, not that gorgeous hair, even if it is a bit multicolored right now!” His hand flew to his hair and he chuckled, “Yeah, well, at least mine’s not as obvious as Joe’s!”

“How long would you say these roots are, Dee?” Joe asked curiously.

“Hmm, bout two and a half inches, maybe three,” she said as she considered Joe’s hair.

“Think you could trim out the blond as well?” Joe asked quickly. All three of them stared at him in surprise, but Dee said uncertainly, “Sure, if you want me to.”

“I’m tired as hell of knowing I look like a reversed skunk,” Joe sighed.

“Okay,” Dee sighed quickly. “Have a seat on that rock over there and we’ll get started.” They moved over to the rock and Dee looked down at Joe’s head. She finally gave a last sigh and pulled a bit of hair up, snipping it off just into the brown area. Sav and Evie watched as she cut the rest of Joe’s blond hair. She ran her fingers through the newly shorn locks when she finished and the others pronounced it a good look for Joe. Far better than the half blond half brown look he’d had before. So he stood up and let Dee trim his beard. She cropped it close so that it looked neat and stepped back. With a quick whistle, she said, “Damn, are you sure you’re Joe Elliott?”

“Yes, ma’am, would you like me to prove it to you?” Joe laughed as he pulled her against his body.

“Hmm, maybe later, but first...” she turned to Sav and said, “Okay, you’re turn!”

“Just the beard, luv, not the hair,” Sav chuckled as he came to stand in front of her. She took off all the long hair and left him with a neatly trimmed beard as well. Then she looked at him and said, “Damn, good enough to kiss!”

Joe snagged her and said, “Oh no you don’t!”

“Hmm, you gotta try it out though,” Dee giggled. “Hey, Evie, see if he really is good enough for a kiss now, please?”

Sav turned to Evie and said, “Yeah, I’d like to know how it works out myself. If you would?”

Evie looked around uncertainly and found them all staring at her expectantly. She took a deep breath and said, “Oh, all right!”

She came over in front of Sav and watched as he lowered his lips down to hers. His lips were so soft and gentle, but insistent. Their gentle pressure increased as she felt his tongue probing against her lips. She wound her arms around his neck as he pulled her into his body. Her fingers tangled into his long hair, pulling him further into the kiss.

Joe turned Dee around and said softly, “Hmm, that doesn’t look like such a bad idea, luv.”

As he put his arms around her, Dee looked up at him and said, “Are you trying to get fresh with me, young man?”

“God, yes, luv,” Joe laughed as he lowered his lips to hers.

Evie broke the kiss and looked up at Sav in amazement. Had he really just kissed her like that? The look in his eyes told her that wasn’t all he was thinking at that moment. Bewildered, she pulled away from him and walked away in stunned silence. Sav watched her go in dismay. Had he totally misread what she was thinking?

Joe saw Evie run up the hill and broke away from Dee longer enough to say, “What the hell is wrong with you, mate? Go after her!”

Sav nodded quickly to Joe and took off after Evie at a run. Then Joe turned back to Dee and said, “Care to continue this inside, out of the way of prying eyes?”

“So, am I going to get ‘punished’ again,” Dee giggled. Joe took her by the hand, heading for the cave and said, “Til you can’t walk if I can help it!”

Sav caught up with Evie just as she sat down on a rock and started to cry. He wrapped his arms around her and said softly, “Baby, tell me what’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry,” she answered, wiping her tears away on the back of her hand like a child. “It’s just, well, that kiss was so nice and it hurts knowing you’ll never be interested in me.”

He turned her to face him and said, “Okay, where the fuck did you get that idea?’

“God, I’m just a kid compared to you and Joe...and Dee,” she said finally.

Sav threw his head back and laughed, saying, “Then Jesus, I’m in trouble, cuz I sure as hell don’t think of you like a kid.”

“Really?” she asked quietly. “I always figured, well, that you all did.”

“Fuck no! You’re the only one around here with a problem about your age, luv,” Sav answered tenderly. “At first, I didn’t even think about it. But you just kept making cracks about being the baby and you damn near changed my mind. I just figured the age thing was too much for you, so I let it go and tried not to think about you as much as possible.”

“What about Dee?” she asked softly. “Sometimes, when you look at her...”

“Ok, confession time,” Sav sighed. “Yes, the first couple of days here, she really had my head turned. I think I was thinking with my crotch at the time and after we’d had sex, I kind of assumed something might come of it. But I never tried to fool myself into thinking I was in love with her or anything. It was lust, pure and simple. But when I saw how she was taking care of Joe, that changed. I gained a lot of respect for her in those first weeks. We got to be friends and I realized neither one of you was someone for a quick tumble.”

His honesty took Evie back a bit. She looked up at him and said, “So, what do you think of us now?”

“Well, Dee’s a very strong woman and she’s perfect for Joe. His mouth has gotten him into trouble with more than one woman, but Dee’s not going to put up with his shit. She’ll tell him off when he needs it,” Sav laughed.

“What about me?” Evie asked in a small voice.

Sav sat down on the rock next to her, took her hand and said, “Hmm, you? You’re a very special person, Evie. You’re wise for your years, but there’s still, ah, fuck, I guess maybe this core of innocence about you.”

Evie finally nodded and wondered if she should tell Sav why that was. Then he saw something in her face and said, “What happened with you and your last boyfriend?”

“Um, ah, well, you see, I haven’t dated much,” she admitted quietly.

“Some how I didn’t think so,” Sav sighed. “Okay, this is a very personal question and you can refuse to answer it if you want to. Are you a virgin, Evie?”

She nodded silently and turned to look out over the ocean. He wrapped his arms around her when he saw a tear starting to form in her eye. Then, after a minute, she looked up at him and said, “Now you know why I always said shit about being so young. See, my mom was super overprotective. And she had me convince that ‘guys only want one thing and then they’ll drop you’, so I got scared of dating.”

“You know that’s not all I want from you, Evie, don’t you?” Sav asked softly.

“I’m just still scared, ok? It’s hard to shake the way you’re brought up,” she said with tears in her voice. He pulled her tight against him and said, “Evie, being a virgin is nothing to be ashamed of. You should be proud of it.”

She looked up at him and said, “But times like this, I regret it. I want to be with you, but I don’t know if I can.”

“Evie, we’ve got all the time in the world if we were meant to be together,” Sav whispered softly in her ear. “I’m not in any rush.” He leaned down and kissed her gently then said quietly, “You ready to head back down?”

“Yeah, they’re probably wondering where we got to anyway,” Evie sighed. Sav took her hand and led her down the hill. Half way down, Sav slipped and fell in a mud puddle left by the latest storm, covering his backside in cold clammy mud. They headed into the cave so that Sav could change into new clothes. But Sav stopped abruptly when he saw the scene in front of him.

Joe was naked, leaning back against the suitcases, and Dee was laying in front of him with her mouth wrapped around his hard cock. Joe got a silly grin on his face as he looked up and said, “Oh, hi!”

Dee turned away and started laughing as Evie turned a million shades of red. Then she looked up at Sav and gave him a salacious wink. Sav just chuckled and said, “Hmm, guess we don’t really need to ask what’s going on. How long have you two, um, well, been, ah, doing this?”

Joe pulled Dee up onto his lap to cover himself a bit and said, “Just today, mate.”

“Um, well, I just need to get something clean to put on and we’ll be going,” Sav laughed. Evie was already out by the mouth of the cave when Sav came out and said, “Um, sorry about that, luv.”

“Can we just get out of here,” she squeaked.

“Yeah, let’s go!” Sav said with a laugh.

Back in the cave, Joe and Dee were in a fit of giggles. He looked down and said, “You don’t happen to see Evie’s eyes anywhere, do you? I think they popped out of her head.”

“Well, if the situation was reversed, I might have had the same reaction,” Dee giggled. She pulled away from him thinking the mood was ruined, but Joe grabbed her and pulled her back into his arms, saying, “Oh no you don’t! You’re not getting away from me that easily!”

“Oh, I thought maybe since..” she never got to finish the sentence as his lips came down on hers. He looked her over and said, “These clothes have got to go, luv.”

“Yes sir,” she said with a smile. She stood up and stripped her clothes off slowly under Joe’s hungry eyes. As soon as she was naked, Joe pulled her back down onto his lap. She straddled him easily and ground against his body, reawakening his limp member. His kiss was undeniable as he held her body to his. Then she felt him pick her up slightly. When she came back onto his lap, his cock slipped into her tight sheath and she moaned loudly. She kissed him hard as her hips ground over him in slow circles, flying them both close to the edge. He pulled her gently against his chest as they came together with whispered words of love. Then they held each other for a long time before finally heading out to find the others.

Over the next few weeks, Evie spent a good bit of time alone. Sav was puzzled by the way she was acting, but he let her have her privacy. Joe and Sav took over fishing duties, afraid to let Dee do it as her pregnancy started to show. She stayed closer to the encampment and did what Evie would let her do around there.

Finally one day, Joe and Sav were both down at the beach when Evie decided to talk to Dee about her problem. She waited until she knew the guys were gone and walked over to Dee, saying, “Hey, can I ask you a few questions?”

“Sure, hon, what’s wrong?” Dee said as she sat down carefully in the grass.

“Well, how did you know it was the right time to sleep with a guy?” she asked quietly.

“Whoa!” Dee laughed. “That’s a hell of a starter question! And I’m probably the wrong person to ask. I’ll be honest. I lost my virginity cuz I wanted to see what all the fuss was about!”

“Really?” Evie said thoughtfully. “I never thought you’d say that.”

“I was nineteen and never dated before, Evie,” Dee explained. “I had a weight problem and absolutely no self-esteem and I thought I might never get the chance again.”

“Damn!” Evie exclaimed. She looked at her friend sadly and said, “Do you ever regret that?”

“Sometimes,” Dee said slowly. “I wish I’d waited for someone I cared about and not jumped in the sack the first chance I got. Why all the questions, luv?”

“Oh, I’ve just been thinking about it,” she said evasively.

“Wait a minute! Are you trying to tell me you’ve never done it before?” Dee said in surprise. Evie just shook her head and Dee said, “The only thing I can tell you is this: Don’t do anything you’re not ready for, okay?”

Evie looked at her and said, “Well, ever since that day we walked in on you and Joe, I’ve been thinking about it. I guess I started getting a lot of feelings that I just don’t understand now and I don’t know what to do about them.”

“You’ve got to do what YOU feel is right,” Dee sighed. Evie nodded and looked away thoughtfully. She knew what she wanted to do, but she just wasn’t sure it was right. Her mother had been adamant that she had to be married before she had sex. She looked at Dee and said, “Shouldn’t you be married first?”

“Well, it’s not bloody likely to happen here, now is it?” Dee laughed. “No, I don’t think so. I think if you care enough about a person, it’s not that important. After all, marriages can end up where mine did, in divorce. It comes more from your soul, not a piece of paper from some court. Marriage is only important when it’s over and you’re fighting it out in court.”

They heard the guys coming up the trail and Evie took off up the hill to avoid them. Dee leaned back and looked up at them with a smile. “So, what’d you guys bring us today?”

They got the food ready and Dee sent Sav up to get Evie. He found her staring at the water and said, “It’s time to eat, luv.”

“Okay,” she answered quietly. From the look on her face, Sav could see something was wrong. He grabbed her by the arm and turned her towards him, saying, “Evie, please, tell me what’s going on!”

But she just shook her head sadly and walked away. Sav watched her leave with a bewildered look on his face, then followed slowly behind her to the clearing. Their meal was a strained affair, since Evie wouldn’t talk to anyone. After they finished, Dee laid back in Joe’s arms as he rubbed his hands over her now swollen stomach. Evie watched them enviously. She wanted to be that close to Sav. She just didn’t know how. So instead, she got up and walked away, heading back to her favorite spot on the hill. Footsteps came up the hill a few minutes later and Evie turned to find Sav standing at the top of their path watching her without saying a word. Finally, she patted the rock next to her and said, “Well, don’t just stand there like a statue. Come on over.”

“Are you sure, luv?” Sav asked softly. When she nodded, Sav sat down beside her and stared out over the ocean. They sat in silence for a while, until she worked up her courage and laid her head on his shoulder. Stunned at first, it only took Sav a moment to put an arm around her and lay his head on top of hers. He felt her hand come to rest on his thigh and start to trace lazy circles there. But he didn’t move, afraid he just might frighten her. She’d only made a move towards this once before and he didn’t want to discourage her now.

Finally, she looked up at him and said, “I’m sorry for the way I’ve been acting lately. I’ve just had a lot on my mind.”

Kissing her on the forehead, he whispered, “That’s okay, luv. I kind of thought you did. I just wish you wouldn’t shut me out.”

“I’m sorry,” she murmured again. “It’s just the way I deal with things.”

“Well,” he answered softly, “whenever you’re ready to talk, I’m here.”

She stared into his eyes for a long while before she finally made a decision. Running a hand over his cheek, she whispered, “I don’t want to talk or think anymore. I just want to feel.” Then she pulled his lips down to hers and kissed him softly. Sav’s body tensed at first, then he relaxed and pulled her into his arms. Unfortunately, without his arm to balance them, he tumbled rather inelegantly to the ground. Evie was pulled down on top of him and they both broke out laughing. Then Evie looked down into his eyes and the laughter stopped suddenly. He wrapped his fingers through her hair and pulled her lips down to his. His tongue ran gently over her lips and left her shivering as it explored her mouth. Then she felt his hand running under her shirt and over the smooth flesh of her belly. When his fingertips ran lightly over her breast, her body trembled with unfamiliar feelings.

“Are you scared, luv?” he whispered.

“Only a little,” she whispered. “But I don’t want you to stop, I know that.”

He gave her a smile, then rolled them over so that he was on top. Then he let his hands wander again, slow smooth strokes over her heated flesh. His hard manhood pressed against her thigh as her newly awakened body ground against his. Suddenly, Sav pulled back from her and said, “We can’t do this here, not yet.”

Confused, Evie looked up at him and asked, “Why not?”

“Well, unless you want to end up like Dee.....”

“Oh shit, you’re right,” she said with a shudder. Sav stood up and pulled her to her feet and asked quietly, “Would you like to continue this down in the cave, where we’ve got...” He stopped as she nodded slowly. So he took her by the hand and lead her down through the clearing and to their cave. They passed Joe and Dee, who were still sitting in the clearing just holding each other. Joe chuckled softly in Dee’s ear and said, “Hmm, wonder where they’re headed?”

“I’m not sure, actually,” Dee said softly. “But I hope he takes care of her. You know, takes it easy on her.”

“He will, luv,” Joe said softly. “He’s not as much of a brute as I am.” They both laughed as Joe laid back and pulled her gently down to his side. Her protruding belly ran right along his side and Joe jumped as they both felt it move on it’s own. They smiled at each other and Dee giggled at the stunned expression on his face.

“What the hell was that?” Joe asked in amazement.

“The baby finally woke up and decided to move,” she said with a smile. Joe sat up and put a hand on her belly, wanting to feel the movement again. And they laid there for a very long time as Joe felt every slight motion of the child inside her.

When Sav and Evie made it into the cave, she looked up at him with frightened eyes. He saw her look and said softly, “Evie, you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

“I want to, Sav,” she answered. “I’m just scared, that’s all.”

“You know, I can’t say I’m not a little scared myself,” Sav admitted. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t,” she said softly. “I trust you, Sav.” She walked into his arms and kissed him soundly, erasing the last of his doubts. He wrapped her in his arms and let his hands roam over her back as his tongue played inside her willing mouth. She tugged at his shirt impatiently, wanting to feel his skin against hers for that first time. Her fingers traced over the hard muscles of his chest, so well defined after the rough months there. Sav shivered under her light touch, but let her explore his body so she wouldn’t be afraid any longer. He trembled as her hands trailed down his stomach, following the line of hair down to the top of his shorts. Then an idea hit her and she asked, “Ya know what we saw Dee doing to Joe?”

Nodding, he wondered just where she was heading with that. Then she looked up at him and said, “Does that feel good for a guy?”

Without thinking, Sav mumbled, “God, yes it does!” Then he looked down at her and saw a scheming look in her eyes. He felt her pull at his shorts and moaned, saying, “You don’t need to do that, Evie.”

“I want to,” she answered as she knelt down in front of him. She skinned his shorts down his legs and looked at his cock curiously. Her hand ran over it’s hard, smooth length and she heard a moan come from deep inside his throat. Her fingers traced along the veins, sending a tremor through him. He bit back a groan as she moved to its head, running light fingers over it as well. He closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of being touched again after so long. Then he jumped when he felt her tongue run gently over the tip, tasting him for the first time. Her mouth closed over him and he nearly came from that alone. He tangled his fingers through her hair and guiding her movements, showing her just what he liked. Her hands wandered under her mouth, cradling his balls softly in uncertain fingers. His lips parted and his breathing got ragged as he fought the urge to give in to what his body wanted. Finally, he pulled her away and said, “Evie, you’ve got to stop or I’m gonna cum right now.”

“If you want me to,” she said quietly. She pulled back from him and looked around, wondering what she should do next. Sav laughed a little and said, “Relax, luv. This isn’t scripted or anything. You can do whatever you want to!”

She let out a nervous giggle and said, “Well, what if I want you to hold me again?”

Stepping over to her, he put his arms around her tiny waist and said, “Your wish is my command!” He kissed her softly and ran his hands over her back. He needed to feel her skin against his, so he lifted her shirt off over her head quickly. Then she shivered as he ran his fingertips very slowly over her cheeks and down her throat. Fingers were soon replaced by lips, trailing down over her soft flesh. Cupping her breast with one hand, he let his thumb go lightly over her nipple and felt her shaking under his touch. So he whispered into her ear, “You can tell me to stop, luv. I will!”

“OH, no you won’t,” she laughed quietly. “I don’t want you to!”

“Okay, Evie,” he chuckled. “But let me know if you don’t feel right about any of this.” Then he bent his head to her breast and his tongue brushed lightly over her sensitive nipple, bring a gasp from her lips. She threw her head back as his arms went around her waist. She moaned softly as his tongue swirled over her hard bud. His hands reached down, grabbing her ass and grinding his cock into her soft belly. He pulled her shorts down slowly over her hips, letting his hands run down her legs as he went. She felt his hands wander over her bare bum as he kissed gently up her leg and right to the edge of her waiting sex. Then his strong hands pulled her down to the ground with him and he said, “Time to repay the favor, luv.”

“What?” she asked in confusion. Sav just laughed and said, “Don’t worry, I think you’ll like it.”

He sat down between her legs and let his fingers play over her skin. He traced small patterns on her flesh as his hand moved closer and closer to his final destination. When she felt his fingers brush the soft curls of her mound, she started to fidget a bit, wondering what he was going to do next. He ran his hand slowly over the outside of her slit, testing the water to she if she would panic, but she didn’t. Her hips pushed up to meet his hand, needing fuller contact with his body. So he let himself go a bit further, parting the outer folds of her carefully. The first time his fingers touched her clit, she nearly jumped. He cooed to her gently, saying, “How does that feel, luv?”

“I need more, Sav! You’re driving me crazy!” she gasped. Her eyes were closed and her back arched as he lowered his head to replace his hands. His tongue ran over her clit lightly, sending a shiver through her. Then it went slowly inside her, running over her inner walls slowly. Evie couldn’t believe the sensations running through her now. She felt like she had electricity running through her veins inside of blood. Then his lips closed over her clit and the electricity turned to white hot lightening. Her body stiffened and she didn’t know what was happening to her. Then she started to say, “Oh, God, Sav, what’s going...”

Her body felt like it flew apart into its basic bits as the feelings overwhelmed her senses. Sav kept sucking gently at her hidden nub until he felt her starting to relax again, her body going limp. Then he crawled up beside her and said, “Are you okay, luv?”

“God,” she said breathlessly. “I’m wonderful. That’s never happened to me before!”

He looked down into her green eyes and saw bits of emerald in their depths, evidence of the passion she felt at that moment. He moved over on top of her and kissed her tenderly. He pulled away for just a moment and she heard a tearing sound, but she couldn’t focus on the noise. Then he moved back to her. She could feel his hips shift as he readied to enter her and she knew a moment’s panic. But he saw it in her eyes and kissed her again. Letting his tongue move gently with hers, he moved again and didn’t feel any resistance. His cock ran over her opening, but Sav wouldn’t let himself reach for his own fulfillment yet. Instead, he rubbed it over her clit, reawaking the feeling she’d had only moments before. Then he looked down at her and saw her eyes closed, her lips parted as she lost herself in the feeling. He went lower again, pushing slightly at her orifice. As she lost her nerve, she started to tell him to stop. But his fingers moved surely over her clit, rubbing and stroking it. He gave a slight push and the tip of his member broke through into her body. He stopped as he met the final barrier of her innocence. He looked into her eyes and whispered, “I’m sorry, Evie, this next bit might hurt for a moment, but I promise you it will pass.”

Her eyes went wide in fear, but she nodded and said, “I want you to. Please?”

His fingers never stopped moving over her clit as he pushed through her hymen. She let out a cry of pain as he buried himself inside her body, then froze. “Oh, God,” she cried, “Sav, it hurts!”

He ran his hand over her hair and whispered, “Shh, luv. You’ve got to relax. Please! Take a deep breath and let it out slowly. This doesn’t last forever and then it will feel better.” But he didn’t move an inch, letting her body adjust to what he’d done. He saw tears in her eyes and started to pull away, unable to hurt her anymore. But she took a deep breath and said, “It’s okay. Give me a minute more and I’ll be fine.”

He waited until he finally felt her start to relax. The tension left her body and Sav started to move slowly in and out of her. Soon she was moaning as the pleasure began to hit her. Her arms went around him and her legs tangled through his as he whispered roughly, “Oh, God, Evie! It’s so tight! God, you’re wonderful, luv!”

“So are you,” she said quietly. Her hips started to move with his, thrusting him deeper and deeper into her. And soon she was crying his name as wave after wave of orgasm came over her again. When her body clamped down on his, he couldn’t take anymore and said, “Oh God, Evie, I’m gonna cum! God, Evie, I love you!”

“I love you, too, Sav,” she answered as she felt him trembling above her. He collapsed into her arms and said, “My God, you really are wonderful.”

Then Evie panicked and wailed, “But, Sav, we didn’t do anything to stop me from getting pregnant!”

“I did, luv, don’t worry,” he said, slipping his hand between them and removing the now used condom from himself. He tossed it toward the side and pulled Evie into his arms, saying softly, “I won’t let anything happen to you, okay, luv?”

She nodded silently as he rolled her over onto his chest and cradled her in his arms. He kissed the top of her head as exhaustion started to overtake her and she relaxed onto him. Within moments, she was sleeping soundly in his arms.

Dee pulled Joe down into the grass of the clearing and said, “Let’s sleep out here tonight, luv. I think they could use some time to themselves.” Joe nodded and lay down behind her, wrapping her in his arms as they drifted off to sleep.

Dee’s pregnancy advanced quickly and soon she looked like she had swallowed a watermelon. She took to laying down instead of sitting, because sitting was far too uncomfortable. And Joe started to get worried, saying, “You know, I don’t remember ANY of the girls getting this big, this fast!”

Sav shook his head and looked over at Dee, who was laying down by the pond at the moment. Then he said quietly, “I just hope this baby isn’t going to be too big for her to deliver. If it is, we’ll lose them both.”

“Is that possible?” Joe asked incredulously. Sav nodded and said, “If we were back home, they’d just do a c-section and get it over with. But here...Jesus, it could be awful!”

Joe shuddered at the thought of losing her. He just couldn’t! God had stranded them on this damnable island and lead him to Dee. He couldn’t take her away now, not when Joe finally knew what it was like to really love someone! Trying to get his mind on more positive things, Joe went over to her and started rubbing her back, which was always sore nowadays.

“So, luv, have you and Sav decided on any names yet?” Joe asked her quietly.

“Actually, we haven’t even talked about it,” she said with a yawn. “Is he around here? I’ve got an idea, but I want to run it past him first.”

“I’m right here, Dee,” Sav said quickly. He’d been lost in his own thoughts about the baby’s arrival, but none as positive as giving the child a name. He walked over and sat down beside her just as Evie came back into the clearing. Evie came up behind him and said, “What’s this? A group meeting without me?”

“Actually, I wanted to talk to Sav about a name for the baby,” Dee said with a smile. “You’re welcome to jump in!” Evie sat down behind him and put her arms around his waist, then said, “Hit us!”

“Well, I was thinking, if this is a girl, I’d really like to name her for my mother. I lost Mom when I was ten and it just seems like something good to name a child for her,” Dee said thoughtfully. “So I was thinking maybe Sarah Elizabeth.” She waited to gauge Sav’s reaction to the use of his mother’s name and saw a smile cross his lips.

“You’re mother was named Sarah Elizabeth?” he asked quietly.

“Actually, her name was Elizabeth. I just thought, well, that it would be right to name the baby for both our mothers,” Dee said quietly.

“It’s beautiful, Dee,” Sav said after a moment. “What if it’s a boy?”

“Well,” Dee said, pulling at the blades of grass in front of her, “I was thinking of Vivian Phillip Richard...”

There was silence all around as the name sank in. Joe nodded quietly and Sav got a tear in his eye as he thought of the friends who may now be dead. He looked down at Dee and said, “It’s perfect.”

“You think so?” she asked uncertainly. “I wanted to include Steve as well, but the baby will hate me enough with three names.”

“I’m sure Steve would understand and just be glad you thought of him,” Joe answered slowly. “But I agree, it’s perfect.”

Sav chuckled and said, “Well, that was easily decided! Paige and I went round for weeks before we came up with Tyler!”

Giving Sav a smile, she said, “Well, I’ve had it going through my head for a while now, I just hoped you’d like it.”

“I do,” Sav answered. “And I think these two do as well.” The broad smiles on Joe and Evie’s faces were enough to let her know she’d chosen the best possible names for their child. So, with a reluctant sigh, she said, “Joe, I’m really tired so could you help a whale get to its feet?”

Joe pulled her up and said, “You are not a whale, you’re still just as gorgeous as you were when we first got here!”

“Thanks for the lie, baby,” she chuckled. Then she turned and headed for the cave to go to sleep. Evie closed her eyes and said, “God, I hope she’s gonna be okay!”

“So do we, luv, so do we,” Sav said slowly.

A month or so later, Joe walked around looking for Dee. She’d taken off early that morning with only a grumpy “hello” for Joe. Her mood had really gone down hill the past few days and Joe just didn’t understand what was wrong. When he found her, she was standing on a rock trying to reach for some fruit up in a tree. He ran over and pulled her down, saying loudly, “What the hell are you doing?”

“Trying to make sure we eat, if you don’t mind,” she answered crossly.

“Jesus, Dee, couldn’t you have asked me for some help?” he said quietly. But she lit up on him and said, “I’m not a fucking invalid, Joseph! I really can take care of myself, you know that? I’ve been doing it for years, plus taking care of a man who was more of a child than an adult! So why don’t you just back off and let me do it!”

Stunned, Joe looked down at her and said softly, “Baby, I’m just worried about you, that’s all!”

“Well I don’t need anyone worrying about me, okay?” she snapped. Then she turned and started to storm away from him. She heard his footsteps and spun around, saying, “Just leave me alone!”

She took off down towards the beach, leaving a hurt Joe in her wake. He couldn’t understand why she would behave like that, she’d never been so mean before! What the hell was wrong with her? He headed back towards the clearing to talk to the others and see if they’d fared any better with Dee lately. Evie was sitting on the grass trying vainly to sew up a rip in a pair of shorts she’d just torn. She smiled up at Joe and said, “Hi! How’s it going?”

“Not to good,” he sighed. “Dee just ripped my head off for trying to keep her from overdoing things.”

“She’s done the same thing to me and Sav in the past day,” Evie said quietly. “I have a feeling things are just getting to her. She’s pretty worried right now.”

“I hope that’s all,” Joe said as he looked back towards the beach. “But somehow, I get the feeling it’s not.”

Dee walked quickly over the sand and found a hidden nook in the rocks where she could sit in a reclined position. Feeling very tired all the sudden, and with a backache worse than any she’d ever had before, she laid back and let herself fall asleep in the shade of the rock. When Joe came looking for her a couple of hours later, he never saw her behind the stone. So he went back to the others and said, “She’s gone again! She must have taken off up through the woods.”

Not wanting to pressure her, they waited another two hours before finally starting to get worried. They spread out in the forest with the agreement that whoever managed to find her would claim to just be out for a walk.

Waves of pain through her back woke Dee with a start. She caught her breath and decided to head back to the clearing to find the others. But after a few steps, the pain came again. It stabbed at her back and tore through her stomach as well. She fell to her knees and waited for the agony to pass. As it did, she caught her breath and laid down on her side to think. Then the realization hit her. She must have been in labor earlier that day, when she’d gotten so angry with Joe. Looking back now, she wished she could take back her actions. There was no way she wanted to hurt Joe like that. But now it was too late to take it back.

Sav looked over his part of the island and didn’t find her anywhere. So her decided to check down by the beach one more time in case she’d gone back there. As he hit the path, he heard a voice screaming, “JOE!!

“Dee?” Sav called loudly. “Where are you!!”

“JOE!” she screamed again as another wave of pain lanced through her. Following the sound of her screams, Sav found her just in front of her hiding spot. She was laying on the ground, doubled over in a fetal position. Running his hand over her sweaty brow, Sav asked gently, “Is it time, Dee?”

She nodded weakly and Sav bent down, picking her up carefully. The added weight of the baby made for hard going as he carried her up the path to the hill and laid her down next to the firepit. With every tearing pain that went through her abdomen, Dee called out for Joe. She barely even heard Sav speaking to her, trying to get her to lay back down and relax between contractions.

Evie heard the commotion and Dee’s screams and head back into the clearing. She’d just kneeled down beside her when she saw Joe come bursting out of the forest and run over to Dee’s side. He threw himself down beside her and said, “Dee, baby, I’m here.”

“Oh, god, Joe, this hurts!” she screamed. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it as another contraction hit. Joe moved around and got under her shoulders, taking both hands in his. Then he looked up and said, “Get her shorts off her!”

Sav tried to pull her shorts down, but she let out a shriek of pain at the movement. So Evie ran up to the cave and grabbed the scissors for Sav, who cut the shorts off her body. Then Sav took a deep breath and parted Dee’s thighs to see if the baby was coming yet. The muscles in her stomach rippled with every contraction, but there was no sign that the baby was ready to come out. Bracing Dee’s feet on the ground and bending her knees, Sav tried to remember anything from Tyler’s birth that could help. His mind was blank as he realized desperately that he was really the only one with any experience at all in this matter. Joe had stayed in the waiting room the whole time. So he tried the only thing he could remember. “Breathe, Dee! Slowly, in and out. Concentrate on breathing for me!”

Joe surveyed the whole scene in disbelief. Looking down over Dee’s body, her stomach seemed so big and her hips were so tiny! How was a child that big ever going to make it out of her body without killing her? As hour upon hour passed with no sign of her giving birth, Joe cried and prayed like he’d never done before. He pleaded with God to let her live. And for the first time since he’d contracted the mumps, he thanked God for his inability to put a woman through this.

Knowing he had no choice but to check, Sav said, “I’m sorry, Dee. I’ve got to see if the child is coming down at all.”

She nodded weakly and another contraction slammed into her. The sound that come from her throat was inhuman, rending Joe’s spirit apart. As soon as she slumped back against Joe, Sav probed between her thighs and into her body, trying to feel for the baby. He could feel the ring of her cervix and it wasn’t open very far at all. But through that small opening, he touched the head of his unborn child. Tears ran down his face as he wondered if he’d ever hold that child, if it would ever draw a breath. He looked at Joe and shook his head, saying, “Dee, you’re not open far enough for the baby to make it out yet. We’re going to be in for a long night.”

“Fuck,” Dee gasped. “You know, I really didn’t want to hear that!” Another wave of agony tore into her and left her limp in Joe’s arms. Sav got up and walked away, not wanting Dee or Joe to see the tears streaming down his face. Evie followed him into the twilight and said softly, “What’s going on?”

“I’m not a fucking doctor, Evie, I don’t fucking know!” Sav snapped. Then he pulled her into his arms and said, “I’m sorry, baby! It’s just that, God, what if she CAN’T have this baby? She’ll be dead, the baby I just touched will die, Joe will be devastated and it will be my fault!”

“It’s not your fault, Sav,” she whispered as she ran her hands over his back.

“If I had just walked away instead of trying to play the rock star stud who can bag any woman, would she be going through this now?” Sav said quietly and motioning to Dee. Then he answered his own question, “No, she wouldn’t.”

“You touched the baby?” she asked, trying to get his mind off his guilt.

Sav nodded, then said, “What if that is the only time I get to touch that child while it’s alive, Evie?” Then he collapsed into sobs in her arms. Then they heard Joe call, “She’s getting cold! Can one of you get the fire going?”

Sav headed for the fire pit while Evie took his place with Dee. She ran her hands over Dee’s leg, slow, soothing strokes to help calm her down. Sav stayed back, unable to trust his emotions at that point. The more time that passed, the more doubt Sav could feel creeping into his mind. Her screams tore threw Sav’s mind as the night wore on and daylight broke again. Finally, Evie said, “Sav, can you check her again? You’ve got longer fingers and you know what it was like last time...”

“Yeah,” he sighed. He probed into her, feeling for the rim of tissue again. To his relief, it was open more than it had been before. He wasn’t sure if it would be enough, but he nodded to Joe and said, “Dee, I think we’re getting closer, luv. Do you feel an urge to push yet?”

She shook her head no and grabbed Joe’s hands hard again. But in a few minutes, she gasped, “I’ve got to push, I can’t stop!”

“Okay, luv, that means you’re getting close!” Sav said, remembering what the doctor had told Paige. “Now, when you feel that urge, go with it and push for all you’re worth!”

Gripping Joe’s hands tightly, she pushed down on her child, trying frantically to free the baby from her body. Then the feeling passed and she laid back into Joe again. A moment later, she was pushing again. It happened over and over until she heard Sav’s crow of triumph, “I can see the top of the head! Dee, you’re doing it, luv!” He turned to Evie and said hurriedly, “Bring me a towel or something so I can wrap the baby up in it! And hand me that thread and your knife!”

Evie did everything he asked, then stood back and watched as Dee pushed again. Then head came out and Sav found himself hanging on to the child as it started to emerge. She bore down one more time and the shoulders slipped out, followed by the rest of the tiny body. Everyone except Dee stared down at the small child, who was wailing in his father’s hands.

Joe was the first to speak, saying, “You mean to tell me all that belly was for that little guy?”

“Guess so,” Evie said as Sav tied off the cord with the thread and cut the child free of it’s mother. Paige had waited several minutes before delivering the afterbirth, so Sav sat back and swaddled the child, then tried to hand it to Dee. But she was doubled over with another blinding pain ripping through her. He passed the child off to Evie quickly and waited as the contraction passed over Dee to say, “It’s a boy, luv!”

“Good,” she sighed. But she didn’t have much time to enjoy her success. Another pain shot through her and Sav moved back between her legs to help with the afterbirth. But what he saw shocked him. Not the placenta, but the top of another head was emerging from Dee’s body. “Oh, fuck!” Sav exclaimed. “Shit, there’s another baby! You’re going to have to keep pushing, Dee.”

“I don’t know if I can,” she murmured. “I’m so tired...”

“You’ve got to!” Sav said roughly. “You can’t give up now, Dee! You’re so close!”

But Dee was slumped back against Joe, unable to move any longer. Her body was just giving up after twenty four hours of labor. So Sav did the only thing he could think of. “Joe, when you see those muscles move, push down on the top of her stomach, try to push the baby out for her!”

“Okay,” Joe said uncertainly. With the first move of her stomach muscles, Joe pushed as hard as he dared. It was enough and the head made it out of her body. He pushed a second time as her stomach moved and Sav gave a whoop as the second twin slid easily out. “It’s another boy!”

Joe smiled down at Dee, but she was close to unconscious by that time. Sav did his duties with the cord, then handed the second child over to Evie. When he turned back to Dee, her eyes were closed and Joe was holding her tightly to his body. Sav panicked, wondering if she was gone now that the twins had been delivered. Tears sprung into his eyes as he made his way back to her limp form.

But then he heard Joe singing to her softly, smiling as the tears ran down his face. She was resting in his arms, eyes closed and breathing normally. When Sav recognized the song Joe was singing, he had to smile. It was one of theirs that Joe had written, called “All I Want Is Everything” and Dee had mentioned it as one of her favorites months ago.

Then Sav got serious again. Dee had one more task to complete before her ordeal was completely over. The muscles were still rippling occasionally as her body tried to expel the placenta. With Joe’s help, Dee managed to get it out with far less fuss than the children had caused. Then Evie could finally bring her sons to her, letting them nurse for the first time. Joe looked down at the boys and said, “What’s that white shit on them?”

“Um, in child birth classes, they said that happens when babies are premature,” Sav explained. “It’ll come off, but I’m wondering how far premature they are now.”

“God, who knows?” Joe answered with a shake of his head. Dee was still laying in Joe’s lap as the twins nursed, but she looked up and said, “Maybe a month or so. I doubt it’s anymore than that or they’d be having problems breathing and such.”

“So, what are their names?” Evie asked curiously.

“Vivian Richard and Steven Phillip Savage,” Dee answered, looking up at Sav for his approval. He merely nodded and said, “I love it.”

“Well, I don’t want her getting sick, so once these little blokes finish with their mum, it’s off to the cave with her!” Joe said quickly. Everyone else agreed, so once the twins finished nursing, Joe picked Dee up and carried her in. Evie and Sav cleaned the children quickly, then bundled them up and took them back to their mother. She was already sleeping soundly in Joe’s arms, so they laid down with the boys in between them and drifted off as well.

Dee rarely left their snug little hole for the few months after the birth. She only went out to clean the children or take care of herself, then Joe would bring her food and water. Though the boys had been small, they were both healthy and thriving. And they had every bit of all four adults attention. Sometimes Evie would watch Dee enviously, wanting a child of her own, but Sav quickly vetoed any thoughts she had in that direction. Dee’s labor had been hard enough on all of them.

A few months before, Joe and Sav had decided to leave a message on the beach in case any plane should happen to come close enough to see it. Joe went down and checked everyday to make sure it was intact. Four months had passed since the boys had been born and Joe knew it was in vain, but he headed for the beach to check on his message again. Dee merely chuckled and said, “Well, if anyone is stubborn enough to manage to get us off this island, it’s Joe.”

He kissed her softly, then said, “I’m trying, but with the babies we can’t exactly build a raft and get out of here!”

She ran her fingers through his shoulder length brown hair and said, “I know, luv. Now go and hurry back! I’m getting hungry!”

So Joe walked slowly down the path on what was, he thought, a fruitless mission. Then he heard a strange noise coming closer and closer to the island.

“God, Misty, can you hand me another Kleenex?” Jeanie asked quietly. She hated being on a plane, but her friends had decided they just had to visit the site where they’d lost two members of their favorite band one year ago. So she’d tagged along. Now emotions were going all over the place on the plane they’d rented.

“Here ya go, bubyee,” Misty laughed, though tears ran down her face as well. Jeanie turned and stared out the window as Anne and Deb started talking to Misty. Felicia and Carol were staring out the window on the other side of the plane and Siona was sitting silently watching all of them. Kim, Deb, Kels and Beth were in the back of the plane having their own quiet conversation. But all the talk was about the two men they’d all loved even though they’d never really even met them.

“We should be getting close,” Felicia said quietly. “They said it’d take two hours to get over the site and we’re nearly past that time now.”

“What the fuck?” Jeanie said quietly, staring intently out the window as they passed over a tiny island. “Hey, guys, can anybody make out what it says down on that beach?”

Women flew to the windows all over the plane, staring down at the sandy beach. Siona stuck her head into the cockpit and said, “Um, guys, we need you to fly over that island a little lower. There’s something written down on that beach.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the pilot sighed. He hated doing these charter flights, but at least they paid the bills. Turning the plane around, he flew over as low as he dared and spotted the message himself. The simple word “HELP” was written in stones over the sand. And someone was down on the beach, jumping up and down and waving like mad. He grabbed the microphone and radioed the message and co-ordinates back to his home base, then said, “Go tell the ladies we’re going to head back so we can find out what the hell that was all about, okay?”

“Yes, sir,” the co-pilot said quickly. When he reached the passenger compartment, it was buzzing with conversation as the women wondered just what the hell they’d become part of. He told them what the pilot had said, then left them to their chatter.

Sav came running down to the beach as the plane flew off. He turned to Joe, wondering if he’d been seen, then felt the world spin as the bigger man picked him up and spun him around.

“THEY SAW ME!” Joe screamed. “WE’RE GONNA GO HOME!”

“Oh, my god, we’ve got to tell the girls!” Sav said, taking off for the clearing where the girls waited. Dee and Evie had both heard the plane and were headed for the beach, each carrying one of the boys. They heard Sav and Joe whooping triumphantly and looked at each other, realizing what had happened. By the time Sav made it to them, tears of joy were running down both women’s faces. They grabbed the girls and the children as Joe told them exactly what he’d seen. Then Joe looked down at little Steven in his mother’s arms and said, “We’re going home, Steve! We’re going HOME!”

Dee had the men take the twins and dragged Evie off to the cave to get together the things they would want to take with them. She slipped into one of Joe’s now ragged United jerseys, her favorite thing to wear on the island, then started sorting through things slowly. Evie could see from Dee’s expression that something wasn’t quite right, but the woman was trying to hide it. Why are earth would she not be happy about finally going home? But Evie let it go, figuring Dee would tell her when she was ready to.

Dee looked around carefully, trying to find anything they would need to have. There were a couple of salvaged notebooks that she knew Joe had been writing in, so she grabbed those and put them into one of the battered cases. In one of them, Dee had kept track of how many days had passed since the children were born by using hash marks. There were assorted small things she didn’t want to leave behind. But the case was pretty light by the time she was done with it, because there wasn’t really very much to take. Evie had to laugh when she saw Dee pick up Joe’s second United jersey and put it in the bag. Evie grabbed a few pieces of clothing and threw them into another case, while Dee refilled Joe’s own bag with what was left of his clothes. Then they took the cases down to the beach.

“They’re going to have to send a ship for us, not a plane,” Dee said quietly. “So it may take them a while. I’m going to find us something for lunch.”

“God, how can you think about eating at a time like this!” Evie said excitedly.

“Because I have the boys to feed, so I have to eat,” Dee said with a small smile. Heading back up to the clearing, she grabbed an armload of fruit and brought it back to the others. After they ate, Dee announced she was going to go for one last walk around the island. She was gone for a long time.

A ship came in faster than Dee had ever expected. The plane had gotten through to a Coast Guard base in Puerto Rico, which was the closest island to their location. Sav and Evie were practically jumping all over each other as a smaller boat launched away and headed for them. But Joe looked around, wondering where Dee was. As the boat docked, he handed Steve to Evie and said, “Don’t let them leave without us.”

“Of course we won’t!” Sav said quickly. “Go find her, Joe.”

Joe tore up the path and found Dee sitting at the edge of the pond, staring down into the water. He pulled her up into his arms and said, “It’s time to go home, luv.”

She nodded, then said, “I know I’m strange, but I’m going to miss this place.”

Kissing her softly, he leaned over and whispered into her ear, “I am too. But we’ve got to leave it now, to go back to our lives at home.”

She kissed him, then pulled away and headed down to the beach. Puzzled, Joe followed her and helped her into the boat as the officer was asking Sav his name.

“Richard Savage,” Sav answered. “And these guys are Evie Sinclair, Dee Ross and Joe Elliott.”

One of the sailor stared at them open-mouthed, then said, “Jesus! Everyone thought you guys died in that fucking crash!”

“Watch your language, sailor!” the officer snapped, though he was thinking the same thing.

“These ladies really saved our asses,” Joe said with a smile at Dee. “We’ll tell you all about it once we get to the ship!”

The small craft carried them out to the bigger boat and all of them were helped aboard. As they headed back for Puerto Rico, all the off duty personal gathered in the mess hall to hear the four of them tell the story of the past year of their lives. Dee was quiet, tending to the children, while Sav, Joe and Evie told the excited group all about life on the island. They were just finishing up when the boat docked in Puerto Rico.

Apparently, news of their rescue had gotten out already. There were several reporters waiting at the dock and cameras flashed as the four adults and two children disembarked from the ship. Questions flew everywhere.

“Are you two really Joe Elliott and Rick Savage?”

“How did you survive on the island?”

“How did you make it to the island?”

“Whose children are those? Were they born on the island?”

“Listen, we’ve just been through a lot of sh..stuff,” Joe said over the din of the reporters. “Give us some time to clean up and eat real food again, then Sav and I will be glad to take your questions!” He slipped a protective arm around Dee and lead her into the Coast Guard barracks, where showers and hot meals waited.

“This is CNN, breaking news. A miraculous rescue at sea today near the island of Puerto Rico! The two members of heavy metal quintet Def Leppard thought lost at sea, as well as two young women and two children, were found on a small island forty miles northeast of Puerto Rico...” Phil’s head snapped around and his eyes were glued to the TV set as the story played out. He raced for the phone, only to have it ring before he got there. “Phil, THEY’RE ALIVE!” came Vivian’s excited voice through the line.

“I know, I just saw it on the telly!” Phil said with tears of joy in his voice. “I’m heading down there on the next flight.”

“Right there with ya, mate!” Vivian said happily.

“Thought you were in the studio with Clock, Viv?” Phil asked quickly.

“Sorry to them, but welcoming friends back from the dead is a bit more important, don’t ya think?” Vivian laughed.

“God yes!” Phil said louder than he expected to. “I’m calling Rick right now, so you want me to just book a flight for all of us?”

“Right on it, mate! You call Rick and I‘ll book the flight,” Vivian said quickly. They rang off and Phil caught his breath before dialing Rick’s number. He still couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. It was the best news he’d had since Rory was born. Smiling broadly, he picked up the receiver and dialed Rick’s home number.

Dee’s ex-husband Jeff was watching the same news broadcast. His head came up slowly when he heard that the band members had been found and he smiled slightly, knowing Dee would have been happy for them. Then he turned towards the screen and was in for a shock. Disembarking from the boat with Joe Elliott’s arm around her was his ex-wife! He listened closely to the rest of the broadcast, then called his wife Michelle into the room.

“Um, baby, I’m gonna have to go down to Puerto Rico,” he said slowly. “They just found Dee alive down there and she’s gonna need...”

“She’s alive?” Michelle asked incredulously. “That’s wonderful! Give me an hour and I’ll be ready to go with you.”

“Are you sure? Last time you saw her, there was a good bit of tension in the room,” Jeff said slowly.

“She’s gonna need as many friendly faces around her as possible right now,” Michelle said quietly. Jeff nodded and picked up the phone. He had travel arrangements to make.

The commander of the Coast Guard barracks had gotten everyone settled in, then left them to their own devices for a while. They had to post guards to keep the reporters away from them. Sav and Evie took one room while Joe, Dee and the boys were in another. The Guard managed to get a playpen for the children, so Dee put them down as soon as she finished feeding them. Joe pulled her up into his arms and said, “You know what I want, luv?”

“What’s that, baby?” she said with a smile.

“A shower! With real soap and real shampoo!” Joe laughed.

“So, do you want to go first or should I,” she asked quietly.

“Hmm, I was thinking maybe you’d join me for our first real shower in a year,” he said with a sly smile. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her, saying, “I can’t wait to have you in a proper place for once!”

She laughed and looked up at him, asking, “So, the shower’s a proper place for what you have in mind? I always thought people used beds for that!”

“Inside four walls will be enough for me at the moment, only because I can’t wait to wash that island out of my hair!” he said with a smile. Then he pulled her into the bathroom and watched as she slowly removed her clothing. An appreciative whistle came from him as she bent down to turn on the hot spray. Taking a handful of water, she threw it in his direction and stepped under the water. She put her head under the water, soaking down her long curls as Joe got into the shower. He reached around her and took the soap in his hands, working up a rich lather before running them slowly over her shoulders. He went over each of her arms, then ran them lightly over her chest, teasing each of her nipples with sure fingers. She moaned softly as his fingers trailed lower, over her stomach and then to each leg. Propping one foot up on the side of the tub, his hand rubbed over Dee’s hot mound. She grabbed his shoulders for support as his fingers worked their way inside her. Her breath came in rapid pants as he moved slowly in and out of her over and over again. His palm ground against her clit, sending sensations shooting through her body. She felt the first waves of orgasm crashing through her and pulled his lips roughly down to her as she whispered, “God, I love you, Joe!”

“I love you, too, baby,” he whispered into her ear. Then he grabbed the shampoo and worked a palm full into her hair. His fingers worked firmly through her now waist length hair, being sure to get every inch of it before guiding her under the water to rinse it for her. Then he did the same with the conditioner.

Once he was done with his gentle ministrations, Dee took the bar of soap and pushed him under the spray. Her sudsy hands started at his broad shoulders, massaging as she went. He closed his eyes, enjoying her soft touch. She let her hands go lower, running over his muscular chest and lightly over his nipples. She played lightly with the hair growing there, then followed it down over his stomach. Then she knelt down and soaped up each leg, running her hands over firm calf muscles and hard thighs. She let her tongue flick out, barely touching his straining cock before spinning him around and going over the backs of his legs. Her hands ran over his ass, cleaning it thoroughly and letting her fingers trail over his anal opening. He gasped at the sensation as she moved on, massaging soapy hands up and over the hard muscles of his back. He felt her soothing strokes going over his upper back and rubbing the tension from his shoulders before she turned him around again. He watched in a daze as she lathered her hands again, then he felt her hands grasp his hard manhood firmly. She ran the soap over its length, up and down, again and again. His lips parted as he felt an explosion building in his groin. Her other hand washed lower, gently cleaning his balls as she massaged them. She rinsed him carefully, then pulled away. His eyes stared into hers, passion burning bright in their depths. He grabbed her roughly and turned her around, pinning her against the wall as he growled into her ear, “Think you’re going to leave me like this, you little witch?”

She looked at him over her shoulder and laughed, then said, “Weeeeell, I did consider it done. I mean, hey, you’re clean aren’t you?”

He growled again, louder this time and said hotly, “I don’t think so, young lady.”

His hand ran under her knee, pulling it up and placing her foot on the edge of the tub. She felt his hard manhood run between her thighs, probing for entrance into her body. With a rough thrust, he pushed into her and heard her gasp in surprise. His tongue went out, running over the shell of her ear as he slammed into her body harder and harder.

Her head fell back against his shoulder as she moaned, “Oh, God, Joe! Faster, baby. I want you to give it to me harder, faster!”

He nipped at her ear, fingers digging into her hips as he did as she asked. She was panting as another climax slammed into her. Her walls clamped down on him, pushing him over the edge. With on final thrust, he moaned, “Oh, Jesus, Dee, I’m cumming! I’M CUMMING BABY!”

“So am I, Joe! OH, GOD, so am I!” she whispered hoarsely. His head fell down on her shoulder as he put his arms around her and said, “I love you, Dee!”

“Love you, too!” she murmured. She turned in his arms and said, “Oops, I forgot to wash your hair, baby!”

“Can’t have that, can we?” he laughed softly, handing her the shampoo. She ran the lather through his dark locks and said, “Are you going to leave your hair color alone or dye it back?”

“I haven’t decided that yet,” he chuckled. “Any opinions?”

“Leave it alone,” she answered. “Unless you just want to cover up that bit of gray coming in at the temples. It goes pretty well with the beard.”

“Think I should keep that as well, luv?” he asked as she rinsed the soap from his hair.

“God, yes!” she laughed. “I love it!”

“Okay,” he whispered. “Whatever my lady wants, she gets!” He reached down and turned off the spray, then said, “So, what are we eating tonight?”

“STEAK!” she said emphatically. “I’ll die a happy woman if I never see seafood again!”

“I know the feeling, baby,” he said with a smile as he passed her a towel. Then they heard a knock at the door. “Mr. Elliott, Ms. Ross?” a strange voice called. “There are some people here to see you. Mr. Savage said you’d want to meet with them!”

“We’ll be down in just a moment!” Joe answered. They threw on their clothes, grabbed the sleeping children and headed down to meet their visitors. As soon as they entered the meeting room the guard led them to, Joe was swamped by Rick, Phil and Vivian.

“You lucky bastard!” Phil said with a broad smile. “Not only did you manage to survive the fucking crash, you grabbed a beautiful woman as well!”

Joe laughed as Rick wrapped his arm around the larger man and said, “Damn, it’s good to have you two back!”

“Miss us?” Joe said with a smile.

“Fuck yes,” Vivian said as he hugged Joe. He looked down at the baby in Joe’s arms and said, “Now, I know that can’t be yours!”

“Actually, mate, it’s mine,” Sav said as he crossed the room. He took the child from Joe and said, “Dee, hon, could you come over here? I’ve got someone who I want to see the twins.”

“Sure,” she said with a smile. Sav led her over to an older woman who was sitting on the couch. Then he said, “Dee, this is my mother, Sarah.”

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Savage,” she said with a smile.

“My pleasure, Ms. Ross,” the woman said with a smile. “So, Richard, these lovely young ones are yours?”

“Yes, Mum,” he said quietly, handing Steven over to her. She cooed down to the child as Dee brought Vivian closer. Mrs. Savage looked at both children and said, “My, as alike as two peas in a pod, they are!”

“Yes, ma’am,” Dee said softly. Evie was standing with her parents, crying tears of joy at their reunion, when Dee saw her go stiff. A beautiful blonde woman had walked in, her hand linked through that of a toddler. Then Dee recognized her as Sav’s girlfriend, Paige Hannon. Paige walked slowly over to Sav, leading their son along with her. Sav knelt down and looked over the toddler, a slow smile crossing his face. His hand ran over Tyler’s hair as he said, “Ty? It’s Daddy!”

The boy hid behind his mother’s leg and Sav’s eyes started to tear up again. Paige saw the tears pricking at his eyes and said softly, “Give him some time, Rick. He hasn’t seen you in a year.”

Sav nodded and stood up, finally looking at Paige. From the look in her eye, she wasn’t that happy to see him. He stood up and said, “So, how have you been, Paige?”

“I’m fine, Rick,” she said slowly. Then she reached up with her left hand to brush her hair out of her face and Sav saw the glint of gold on her ring finger. Evie was watching the whole scene, wondering what was happening as she saw him reach for Paige’s hand. Sav looked into Paige’s face and said, “What’s this, luv?”

“Um, well, ah, you see,” she stammered. “I’m married now, Rick.”

“Well,” Sav said quietly. “Congratulations!”

“You’re not angry or hurt?” she asked softly.

“No, luv, I’m happy for you,” he said with a smile. “I’ve met someone else as well, so why should I begrudge you being happy too?”

“Thank you for understanding, Rick,” she said softly. “So, whose babies are these?”

“Mine,” Sav answered quietly. He knelt down to Tyler and said, “Would you like to meet your half-brothers?”

The boy pulled away until he saw his grandmother sitting on the couch. Then he ran to her, crying, “Nana! Nana!” He crawled up beside her and let her show him the children as Sav and Paige watched quietly. Dee left them to themselves and headed for Evie, giving her a quick hug.

“Dee, what’s going on with him?” she asked tearfully. “Does he want Paige back?”

“She’s married, luv,” Dee said quickly. “I don’t think you’ve got anything to worry about.” Then Dee turned around and found herself face to face with her ex-husband and his new wife.

“Hello, Jeffery! Hi Michelle,” she said in a startled voice. “What are you two doing here?”

“Hi babe,” Jeff said softly. “We just came down to welcome you home.”

“That’s a long way to travel for an ex-witch, I mean wife,” Dee said with a wink and a smile. “Have you heard from Dad or Casey? I was hoping they’d show up here eventually.”

“Delenn, we need to talk,” Jeff said sadly. He pulled Dee off to an empty part of the room and said, “God, this is rough. I didn’t want you to find this out on your own or anything, though. Ah fuck, how do I tell you this?”

Michelle put a soft hand on Dee’s shoulder as Jeff said finally, “Dee, a week after your crash, your dad and step-mom went to visit your sister at her house. In the middle of the night, there was a fire...”

“Oh, God, did everyone make it out okay?” Dee asked quickly, fearing that someone had died. But the truth was far worse than her imagination.

“No, baby, they didn’t,” was all Jeff could say as tears started rolling down his face.

“No one did?” Dee asked, tears of her own coming quickly as she realized what he was saying.

“There was an electrical short in the bedroom where your Dad was sleeping. They don’t think he or Kathy ever even woke up,” Jeff said softly.

“What about Jessie and the baby?” Dee said desperately. Jeff shook his head and said, “They think the smoke got Jessie while she was trying to get Caroline out of the fire.”

Dee’s body started to shake. Jeff pulled her into his arms and said, “I’m so sorry, baby.”

Sobs tore threw her as she realized she didn’t have anyone left. Only her babies and Joe. She crossed the room and collected her children quietly, then sat down away from everyone and held them to her as she cried. She looked for Joe, hoping to seek some comfort in his embrace for a moment. That’s when she saw Bobbi enter the room and throw herself at Joe, kissing him hard. Dee went rigid, cold. It appeared that maybe she didn’t have Joe after all. She looked up at Jeff with tear filled eyes and said, “Jeff, please, take me home!”

Evie watched as they walked out with Dee and Michelle carrying the twins. At first she thought they must need to talk in private because Dee seemed very upset. She saw Joe trying to pull himself away from Bobbi and realized Dee had seen her arrival as well. Evie crossed the room in time to hear Bobbi say, “But I still love you, Joey!”

“Joey?” Evie thought with an inner laugh. “God!” She sat back and listened as Joe told Bobbi that too many things had changed in his life, that he needed to move on and so should she. Bobbi pleaded with him for a long while, trying to get him to come home to her. After nearly an hour of that, Evie had seen enough and walked up to Joe, asking, “Have you seen Dee? She was really upset when her ex talked to her.”

Joe looked around and said, “No, where’d she go?”

“She left a while ago,” Evie answered. “And she took the twins with her.”

“Ah, fuck!” Joe exclaimed, wondering if she’d seen Bobbi’s little show. He took off for the room they shared and found all the bags gone except his own. So he ran back down to the meeting room and found an officer who told him that Ms. Ross had left with her companions and children, heading for the airport. Joe slammed his fist into the table and headed off to tell Sav and Evie what was going on.

Dee wandered around her father’s house with tears streaming down her face. According to what Jeff had told her, since she hadn’t be declared legally dead yet, she’d inherited everything when her family passed away. The house, the farmland that surrounded it and the insurance money. Michelle had stopped and bought her a playpen for the children as a welcome home present and Dee had it up in the living room where the children were now sleeping. She walked into the kitchen and found a newspaper that was still open on the table next to her father’s favorite coffee mug. The front page story was dealing with the crash and those still missing at sea. Namely, Dee and her companions of the last year. Dee picked up the empty mug and took it to the sink, then ran her fingers over the newsprint in front of her. Her father had died thinking she was already gone. Maybe he’d been her guardian angel when she’d fallen in that hole or when the twins had been born. Fresh tears flowed as she realized her father would never see the grandsons he’d so desperately wanted.

Every room in the house was filled with memories. Dee had moved back in with her father when she’d gotten divorced and found her bedroom just as she left it. Right to the photos she’d taken at Def Leppard’s Cleveland concert two years before. She’d been so proud of the shots she’d gotten of Joe and Sav that she’d blown them up to eleven by fourteen photos and hung them on her wall. Her fingertip traced over Joe’s face as she realized she’d never see him again. But she just didn’t have any tears left in her. She laughed as she realized that when she’d last left this room, Rick Savage had been her dream man. Now she barely thought of him, only Joe. But she had Sav’s children sleeping in the other room and he needed to know where they were.

She headed for her father’s desk and looked through the rolodex, finding the number of an old family friend who happened to be her father’s lawyer. The receptionist put her through quickly and she heard Ralph’s familiar voice come over the line, “Delenn?”

“It’s me, Ralph,” she sighed.

“Do you realize people are looking all over for you?” he asked quickly.

“No, I didn’t,” she said quietly.

“It’s all over the headlines, “Def Leppard twins and mother disappear” and pictures of you and the babies,” he answered.

“Well, that’s one of the reasons I called you, Ralph,” she said slowly. “I’ve got to let their father know where the boys are. Don’t want him thinking I kidnapped them or anything.” She gave him what details she had about Sav and a message that told him Steven and Vivian were at her address. When she hung up, Ralph told her it would probably take a few days for him to get to Sav, but he guaranteed he would do it.

A few days later, Dee was playing the piano for the boys in the sitting room when there was a loud knock at the door. She made it there as the person banged again. When she opened the door, she found Sav leaning against the frame with Evie right behind him.

“’Ello, stranger,” Sav said with a smile. “Miss us?”

“Of course I did,” Dee said as Sav pulled her into his embrace. She hugged Evie quickly and said, “How have the two of you been?”

Evie beamed, “Never better, actually.” It was only then that Dee noticed the ring on Evie’s finger. She smiled up at Evie and said, “What the hell is that?”

“We got married yesterday,” Sav said, giving Dee a grin. “Now that we’ve seen you, where are the boys?”

“Oh, I see how you are,” Dee joked. She lead them into the sitting room and watched as Sav and Evie each picked up a child. The boys smiled up at them and Sav laughed, saying, “You should have seen the look on Phil’s face when we told him their names! He looked ready to bust!”

“Vivian was pretty flattered as well,” Evie said thoughtfully. Then she looked at her friend and asked, “Why’d you leave us, Dee?”

“Well, Bobbi was there and I couldn’t make it hard on Joe,” she started. Then she went on to tell them the news Jeff had delivered and Evie hugged her around Steven’s small body.

“I’m so sorry, Dee,” she whispered.

“So am I,” Dee said quietly. “But I’ve had a few days to adjust to it, so I’m doing better now. Hell, being alone in this house is kinda like being alone on the island, without the wind.”

“Joe’s looking for you, Dee,” Evie said quietly. “Just like he always seemed to be doing there.”

“I’m sure Bobbi will be there to console him,” Dee said as she looked out the window.

“He sent her away,” Sav answered. “Gave her the house in Michigan and told her it was over, that too much in his life was different now.”

Dee’s head snapped around and she stared at Sav in disbelief. Evie continued, “He was really hurt when he realized you’d gone away. We spent two days trying to sit on him, to keep him from running off after you, because the press wanted to talk to all of us.”

“Oh really,” Dee answered softly.

“You haven’t seen any of it on television?” Evie asked quietly.

“I never hooked the cable up,” Dee answered honestly. “I guess I got so used to being out of touch, I just never bothered with it. And I haven’t read the papers either.”

“Listen, can we take the twins back to the hotel with us?” Sav asked quietly. “We’ve really missed them.”

“You won’t be able to feed them, remember, Sav?” she answered. “Why don’t the two of you just stay here for however long? I’ve got plenty of room.”

“That’s an idea,” Evie answered. “How bout we take the boys with us to get our stuff from the hotel, Sav?”

Sav nodded as the two of them exchanged a look that had Dee wondering. She said, “Why not leave them here and just run over? You’ll have plenty of time with them.”

“Oh, we’ll just take them for a quick trip,” Sav said with a smile. Dee got up and grabbed a spare set of house keys, saying, “Just let yourselves back in when you get here.”

“Okay,” Evie nodded. “We’ve already got car seats in the car, but we’ll be back in a bit.” They bundled the children up against the cold Ohio winter and headed for the car. Before they could leave, Dee ran out and grabbed Evie, saying, “Congratulations, girl!”

“Thanks,” Evie said softly. “He shocked the hell out of me when he told me he wanted to get married. And there was no way I was saying no!”

“I don’t blame you a bit,” Dee said with a laugh. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

“We’ll be back in a bit!” Sav said with a wave. They got in the car and drove off, leaving Dee standing in the driveway. She turned and head back into the house. There was a lot of thinking to be done and for Dee that meant one thing. Her piano. She popped in a CD she’d made just to play along to and sat down on the bench, running her fingers over the keys. The first song was a Def Leppard number called “From the Inside” and Dee reached for the stereo remote to change it. Then she thought better of it and restarted the song. She’d heard the performance Joe had done on an English TV of this song with a member of the Hothouse Flowers and learned the piano part by listening to it.

Her fingers flew over the keys as she listened to Joe’s voice again. She didn’t really think he was looking for her, or he would have been with Sav and Evie. Tears ran down her face as she played and when the song ended, she started it once more. She lost herself so much in the music, it seemed Joe was right there, singing along in the same room. Realization hit her suddenly and she stopped playing, turning slowly towards the doorway. There, leaning against the frame, stood Joe and he was still singing softly.

“How the hell did you get in here?” she asked incredulously.

“I slipped in while you were outside talking with them,” he said quietly. “Why’d you leave me, Dee?”

“I thought you’d be happier with Bobbi,” she blurted out. She was fighting a losing battle not to throw herself into his arms at that moment. But the time just wasn’t right. Joe crossed his arms over his chest and said angrily, “After everything I’ve said, you still believe that?”

“I told you before, it was difficult to know what was real on that island,” Dee said through the tears in her voice. “You never thought you’d see Bobbi again, so it was easy to say anything to me.”

He walked over to her, pulled her to her feet and held her by the arms as he said, “What about now? What if I tell you that I can’t live without you? If I say I love you? If I tell you I want you to be in my life forever?”

“I’d think I was dreaming, probably,” Dee said quietly. “I already think I am with you just being here.”

“Well, you’re not and I mean every word of that,” he said softly. “These past few days have been hell, not knowing where you were. I love you, Dee!” With that, he crushed her lips with his, pulling her into his body.

“I love you, too, Joe,” she said desperately. “And I don’t want to live without you either!” Joe picked her up and headed for the bedroom. He laid her down gently and whispered, “Please, don’t ever leave me again!”

“I won’t,” she whispered into his hair. As he kissed her, his hands ran over her body, needing to feel her to reassure himself she was actually there with him again. Her fingers fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, trying to get to the flesh beneath it. One button flew off in her haste to feel him again. He tugged her shirt up over her head, freeing her breasts to his touch. His lips closed over her nipple, nursing just like the children she suckled now. He lay there a long time just tasting the sweet milk her body gave to her sons. Then her hips started to grind against him as she searched for some relief from his talented tongue. His hand ran down under her sweats, rubbing her through her panties. Then he slipped his hand under the thin fabric as well, trailing his fingers slowly over her sex. They dipped into her, causing her to shiver under their touch. His lips were still teasing at her breasts when he started to work over her clit, leaving her trembling as her orgasm slammed into her. She was gasping for breath as she moaned, “Oh, God, JOOOOOOOOE!”

His mouth trailed up her body, going up her neck and nibbling at her ear. Then he whispered roughly, “You enjoy yourself, luv?”

“God yes!” she whispered. She laid there for a second before pulling out from under him and pushing him down on his back. Joe just laughed as she tugged at his jeans. It only took her a minute to get them off him, then she stood up and skinned off her sweats and panties as Joe watched. She moved slowly to the end of the bed and crawled up his body until she reached his groin. Then she laid down and looked at it, murmuring, “So, does Joseph want some attention?”

“Fuck, woman, are you TRYING to torture me!” Joe groaned. “Hell yes I want some attention!”

“Hmm, let’s see what I can do for you,” she chuckled. And with one quick motion, she buried Joe’s throbbing manhood in her mouth. He groaned loudly as he hit the opening of her throat, nearly exploding right then. She moved slowly, her tongue rubbing over him as she worked. His eyes went wide when he felt her finger running lightly over his anus, pushing gently against it. He let out a yelp when her finger popped into him and she felt him start to squirm. She sucked at him hard as her finger went deeper. Then she felt him start to tighten under her and she pulled away, leaving him laying there stunned.

“Oh, FUCK NO, you’re not doing this to me again!” Joe growled as he grabbed her. She laughed and pulled away from him and got up off the bed. Within a second, Joe was off the bed and tossing her playfully back onto it on her stomach. He laid down on top of her and hissed into her ear, “Woman, you’re going to kill me yet!”

His hands grabbed onto her hips, pulling her up to her knees as she laughed. Her laughter stopped as he entered her quickly, leaving her gasping for a moment. Then she slammed back against him and heard him say, “So you like that, do you?”

“I like just about anything you do,” she murmured softly. He chuckled against her back and said, “Oh really? Well, you know paybacks are a bitch, right?”

Confused, Dee continued to move against him when she felt his finger running over her anal opening. She could only moan as his finger went into her and she moved back against him harder. She groaned as he put a second finger into her, working it in slowly. He felt her hips jerk back against him, but she never flinched from this new touch. So Joe leaned down and whispered into her ear, “May I?”

She nodded and he pulled out of her mound, rubbing himself over her other opening gently. Then he pushed forward slightly and popped into her body again. She threw her head back, feeling a flash of pain before the pleasure took her over. He pressed forward and her body gripped him tightly, bringing a loud guttural moan from deep in his throat. “Oh, Fuck! Baby, you feel soooooo good,” he groaned.

She couldn’t even speak as his hips met hers. Her head was thrown back and forth as he carefully thrust into her over and over. His hands gripped her shoulders, pulling her back onto him as he said, “OOOOHHHH Jesus, you’re so fucking tight!”

“Oh GOD, JOE! Give it to me, PLEEEEEEEEAAAAAAASSSSSSEEE!!” she said in a voice close to a scream. Her hips bucked against him as another climax tore through her body, leaving her slumped weakly on the bed. As she tightened on him, Joe couldn’t take anymore, moaning, “OHHHH, FUCK, BABY, YOU’RE SO GODDAMN HOT!! I’M GONNNAA, OH FUCK! I’M CUUMMING, DEE, I’MMMM CUMMMMING!”

She grunted as he collapsed down on her back, still inside her body. They both lay there, completely breathless, as they recovered from what they’d done. Then Joe moved off her and pulled her into his arms, whispering, “God, I love you, did you know that?”

“I think you’ve mentioned that once or twice,” she chuckled as her head came to rest on his shoulder. “I’m sorry I left you, Joe. I was just so upset over what happened to my family, cause then all I had left were you and the kids. Then when I saw Bobbi...”

“Wait a minute, luv!” Joe said in confusion. “You lost me. What happened with your family?”

“There was a fire, just after the crash,” she said, tears coming into her voice as she spoke. “My Dad, my sister, even my niece...” she couldn’t speak anymore and Joe pulled her tight against him, letting her cry as he realized what she was trying to say. “God, all of them are gone?”

She nodded against him as sobs started to wrack her body. Then he whispered softly, “I’m so sorry baby.” And he held her for a long time while she cried and talked about her family. Eventually, she was all cried out and lay quietly against him as they drifted off to sleep. Dee woke a while later when she heard Sav and Evie moving through the house. When she started to pull away, Joe woke up and pulled her back against his chest. “Dee,” he said softly, “I need to ask you something before we go out with them.”

She looked up at him curiously as he ran a hand through her hair and said, “Marry me, Dee. Marry me and come back to Ireland with me!”

Smiling up at him, she knew what she wanted to say. But she knew there was something in the way of it. So she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and said, “No.”

His eyes flew open and she could see the anger there as he said, “What? You won’t? I don’t fucking believe this.” He threw the covers off and sat at the edge of the bed, anger and disappointment tearing through him. Brushing tears from his eyes, he reached for his pants and said, “Okay, well, I guess I was the one who was wrong about us.”

Dee moved up quietly behind him and put her arms around him as she whispered, “Not yet.”

Spinning around, he peered into her eyes and said, “What do you mean, Dee?”

“I won’t marry you until I know it’s going to work. We’ll see what happens after I have to deal with your next tour,” she said quietly. “I may not be able to take it and I’d rather know that before we actually do the deed.”

Seeing the wisdom in what she was saying, he nodded his head and said, “I understand. But it’ll work, I’m sure of it. So I’ll be waiting for you at the altar as soon as the next tour is finished.”

“And when will you guys be going out again?” she asked as she kissed his shoulder.

“Actually, they released the album we finished just before the crash about six months ago. Peter and Cliff think we could do rather well if we tried to tour on it, so they want it to start in five weeks,” Joe sighed.

“Well, I better find someone to help me with the kids for this then, huh?” she said with a laugh. She moved to the phone and started making calls to find a nanny to help out on tour.

The tour was bigger than any of the band had thought it would be. With Joe and Sav ‘coming back from the dead’, fans all over the world turned out to welcome them back. Every venue was packed and the album, which was in the thirties on the charts when they’d been found, shot straight up to number one. The crowds were crazy and sometimes Dee got a little freaked out when she had the kids with her. But for the most part, she enjoyed touring a great deal. The fans kind of stayed back from her, because they all knew that while she was with Joe, those kids were Sav’s. They just didn’t know what to think of her. But within three months, Dee started going out of her way to talk to people. She knew how bad the internet could rip her apart if she came off as a bitch.

Joe came down one night after a show and found her talking with a few girls who were fans of the band. He kissed her on top of the head and said, “Can I talk to you for a minute, baby?”

“Sure,” she answered quietly, wondering what was going on. He pulled her off to the side and said, “This part of the tour is wrapping up soon.”

“I know that, Joe,” she said in confusion.

“So, what do you think of touring?” he asked quietly.

“It’s been great! I never really thought I’d like all the travel and people, but I really do,” she answered.

“Then let’s get married, now!” he said with a smile. “We’re in Vegas tomorrow, so let’s just do it!”

She leaned back against the wall and looked up at his hopeful face, then nodded quietly. He picked her up and whirled her around, then said, “You’ll do it?”

“Of course I will,” she said as she kissed him soundly. So Joe took off and got Malvin to make all the necessary arrangements. When the plane landed in Las Vegas, they all headed straight for the wedding chapel instead of the hotel. And with all their friends around them, they got married in a simple ceremony in a small Vegas chapel. That night, Joe did something she never thought he would. He looked down at her from the stage as they were getting ready to do “Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad”, then got one of the security guards to lift her up on stage. She looked around in shock as Joe said, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is a little unusual for us, but I’ve got this song I want to sing for my new wife and I guess I’ll sing it for you as well.” He kissed her gently as the band started the song. His eyes never left hers as he sang every word.

As the song closed, Joe pulled her into his arms for a long hug. Then he leaned over and whispered into her ear, “I do need you so bad. I love you, baby.” And for that brief moment, with twenty thousand people watching them, they felt like the only two people in the world.