Crossing the Abyss -
A Sequel to A New Day Wakes
By Camilla Sandman

Disclaimer: They're mine I tell ya, MINE! MWA-HAHAHAHA! Whadda ya mean they can sue me? But I don't have any money! Oh, alright! They're Hal McElroy's and very Australian, though they would make great Norwegians. Happy now::sulks in the corner:

Author's Note: Come on guys? Like you knew it wouldn't happen! I sent Mulder and Scully there, I sent Janeway and Chakotay there.. it was just a matter of time before Frank and Rachel got here too! So here we go… Off to Norway! Remember to bring warm clothing!
The descriptions of Norway are highly colored by my own opinions.. But then again, aren't descriptions always? Just kick me if I get too patriotic, will ya::imagines she'll have quite a sore butt by the end of the week:

If you gaze to long into the Abyss, the Abyss gazes into you.
- Nietzsche

II

"We're going WHERE?" Frank Holloway once again asked his boss Jeff Hawker, not trusting his ears.

"Norway," his boss once again repeated, "we're doing an exchange program. They are considering putting up a similar division to ours in Oslo, so two of their men are coming here and you two are going there. "

"But it's like… far up north.. on the other side of the world…" Frank argued, feeling his partner Rachel Goldstein rolling her eyes at him behind his back. He turned quickly, but now she was just looking professional, giving him a blank stare in return.

"Look at it like a vacation," Hawkes suggested, "a change of scenery." A big "you could need it" hung in the air but wasn't actually spoken.

"Do we have a choice?" Frank sighed, already knowing the answer.

"No. Helen got the details, she will fill you guys in. That was all."

As they left the office, Hawker could not help but look worried after them.

Frank had been back for a month now, and he was still hovering over his partner. Hawker could see his worry, and the fact that she was so quiet worried him too. He knew Rachel was still grieving the loss of Jack, it had been a hard blow to them all, but sooner or later she'd have to return to normality.

"But just what would normality be for those two," he wondered. For he like everyone else in the office, he too sensed that big cloud hanging over the two, something unspoken, and he had a fairly good idea what it was. Both refused to acknowledge it of course, but sooner or later it would emerge.

Unspoken words have a tendency to do just that

II
2 days later, somewhere over Europe.
II

So here he was, sitting on a plane off to the "Way to the North" or whatever the country's name meant. Frank sighed. North meant cold. And apparently it was it's coldest time of year too. Bloody great, really.

Rachel was asleep, he could tell, by the way she was leaning heavily on his shoulder. At least she wasn't snoring. And in a strange way it felt good having her sleep like that. He let his free arm caress her face a little, taking in her peaceful features, before turning his attention to the travel guide again.

"Norway is situated on top of Europe," he read. "It's inhabited by over 4 million people, known for their love for skiing…" Skiing? Snow? Great….

"Pack warm," Helen had told then with a wink. She hadn't been kidding. He stared at the pictures of meters upon meters of snow again. Damn, it looked cold.

"So just how cold was it going to be, anyway?" Frank pondered. Chilly? Freezing? Occasionally cold breezes?

He glanced over at Rach again. She was still sleeping peacefully, and he didn't want to wake her, but his shoulder was beginning to grow numb and his fingers were tickling in uncomfortable way. Her mouth was half-open and she was making little sleeping noises he found surprisingly cute. Normally "cute" wasn't the word he'd use to describe his partner, "foxy", "hot" and "breathtaking" were more words coming to his mind.. but there was something completely innocent about her now, and he briefly wondered if this was what she'd been like before she met Jonathan, the asshole. He found himself drinking in the sight of her, savoring each detail to memory. If she found out he'd been glaring at him again, she'd probably duck him in cold water.. or snow… he realized with a chuckle. Still, what she didn't know….

"Stop staring at me, Francis."

He almost jumped out of his skin at the sound of her voice. So she was awake after all!

"Heya," he grinned and she opened one eye to look at him and smile. She seemed more relaxed than he'd seen her since he got back, he realized. Maybe Hawkes was right, they did need a change of scenery. The office was a standing reminder of Jack, after all.

He felt a sting at the thought of the name. Yeah, he had left, and yeah, it was Rachel's choice, and yeah, the guy was dead, so he had no reason to feel this way, but it was a fact and it wouldn't go away.

He was jealous.

"Where are we?" she asked, straightening herself up so blood could return to his shoulder.

"Over Europe somewhere, I presume."

"Really helpful, Holloway."

"Ladies and gentlemen," the Captain interrupted, "we are now crossing the North Sea and should begin approach to Oslo Airport in half an hour. Passengers are requested to return to their seats. Thank you, and we hope you will enjoy your stay."

"See? Somewhere over Europe," Frank grinned, hoping she would take the bait. She didn't talk too much these days, and it worried him more than he'd like to admit. No matter what happened, she seemed to always have the strength to bite his head off verbally.

For a second she looked as if she would actually take it, she opened her mouth to offer a biting remark, but then she just shook her head a bit and looked out.

He could deal with her tears, her biting his head off, her sarcasm and even her lashing out at him. But her silence was another matter completely. It scared him.

And, he imagined, it was probably scaring her too on some level. At least he hoped so. God, he hoped so!

II

It was bloody sunlight as they took their first step on Norwegian soil and hour later. So far, Norway was bloody bright and bloody cold. Everything was covered in white! The sun was reflecting everywhere they looked, but it didn't bother to warm them in the process.

And everything was sounding distant, as if listening to your neighbors TV.

But first and foremost it was BLOODY FREEZING! The air seemed to be needles pressing against their skin, through the inner layers and heading right for the spine we're they took a cold grip… and held on.

"This is..." Frank turned to say to Rachel in a puff of white air coming out of his mouth.

"Cold," she finished.

"Bloody cold!" he added.

"Freezing!"

"Bloody freezing!"

"Ah, you must be the two Australian detectives," a man came walking towards them, "I'm Vegard Hansen."

Extending his hand, the tall blonde and blue-eyed Norwegian beamed down at them, especially Rachel, Frank noted sourly.

"I'm Rachel Goldstein, this is Frank Holloway. A pleasure to meet you."

"Pleasure is all mine, I assure you. I will drive you to the hotel so you can unpack and rest. The plane trip must have been tiring. You're not expected to show up on the Department until tomorrow, I'll come and pick you up in the morning. So how do you like Norway so far?"

"Cold," Rachel said with a shiver, causing the man to laugh sympathetically.

"Oh, my dear friends, this is not cold. It will get worse. Far worse."

II

"At least the accommodations were good," Rachel thought a few hours later, as she looked around her. Nice bed, hopefully with warm blankets, a fireplace, a table she could use as a desk, a few chairs and a small bathroom with a bathtub and a shower. And everything, except the chimney and fireplace, was in polished wood. It even smelled woody. It felt more like a log cabin than a hotel room. The only thing bothering her was the giant moose head over the fireplace. Why it was there, she had no idea, and it's dead stare were starting to freak her out. It had such big black eyes seeming to stare deep into her.

There was a knock on the door. Relived to escape those black eyes, she almost ran to open the door.

Frank marched in.

"Ya know these guys gotta be obsessed with wood or something, cos…" he caught a glimpse of the moose's head in the corner in his eye, and turned to stare at it.

"What the bloody hell is that!"

"The head of a moose," Rachel answered dully.

"No shit. What's it doing in your room?"

"They probably thought it was a nice decoration."

"A dead moose as a decoration. They have peculiar taste these Norwegians. Speaking of which, I was gonna test their taste in beers…"

"Lead the way mate," she said and smiled at him. A sudden urge to embrace her in a powerful hug came over him, for it was one of the few true smiles he'd gotten out of her in a long while. Instead he lead the way out, throwing one last look at the moose. Crazy country. At least they hadn't tried to stick one in his room.

Outside it was dark, very dark, and the clearest night-sky Rachel had ever seen. The stars were glittering, and so was the snow, like someone had hid tiny pieces of silver everywhere in it. It was a beautiful scenery. If it hadn't been so friggin cold! She looked up at Frank, his breath coming out as white smoke, his cheeks red and with a stupid boyish smile on his lips. He looked so… alive! It felt weird studying him like this, taking in details. She'd never done that before. But then he'd left.

And after he'd left she found herself trying to remember every detail of his face, his smile… but she couldn't.

He'd been gone so long before he came back that she'd almost gotten used to it, and now it felt almost strange to have him by her side, like a dream she was bound to wake up from. And find herself alone again.

They headed into the nearest store across the street from the hotel, it was fairly empty. And strangely enough the beer shelves had been covered up with cloth.

"That's the way to increase sales," Frank remarked dryly and got a raised eyebrow in return.

"Unnskyld, men.." A young boy, probably a sale's clerk, approached them, smiling nervously

"We don't speak Norwegian, mate," Frank pointed out.

"Oh, sorry. Beer sales closes at 7 p.m. Sorry. Better come back tomorrow."

"Whadda ya mean, beer sale closes at 7 p.m.?" Frank glared at the poor sale's clerk, not believing what he'd just heard.

"Sorry, sir, it's the law." The young boy was squirming under Frank's cold stare now, obviously wishing he was somewhere else far, far away.

"The LAW!" Frank hissed, about to give the little brat a lection in law and who represented it when Rachel interrupted.

"Frank…"

"What kind of country is this?" he said, throwing a glance at her, she almost seemed amused by the whole situation.

"Come on Frank… Just let it go… We'll find a bar or something."

Throwing one last angry glance at the little brat of a salesclerk, Frank stalked out, Rachel in tow. He could hear her chuckle a bit at him, at despite his anger, he could feel a bit of joy crawl up. At least he got her laughing. That was worth all the beers he could drink in one night.

"How about we hit that bar.. umm.. Vigard.. recommended," she suggested as they came out in the cold again.

"You like him? The big Viking brute?"

She actually laughed at his sour remark.

"Holloway, you're jealous! You never could handle…" her voice faltered.

The unspoken name ripped away any laughter and good spirits, bringing back the tension and uncomfortable silence between them.

Rachel felt herself falling. Falling into that abyss she so desperately tried to avoid thinking about, the dark, stark cold of her mind.
She had looked into it for so long she almost felt like a part of it.

"How about we do that tomorrow?" she asked Frank, not bothering to wait for his reply before almost running back to the hotel.

She could still feel his eyes on her, worried, as she stumbled into her room, breathing hard.

That's it, breathe. Just breathe. You're in control. You're in control

Then how did she feel like she was falling into utter darkness?

II

She woke up sweating a few hours later, and found herself in the cold stare of the moose. The sad eyes were staring at her, reminding her. It was his eyes. As dark as the abyss, as cold as her, as dead as him.

It should have been her. Somehow she knew it should have been her. But it had been Jack. She had lost him like she had lost so many others before him. She'd lost Frank too, his coming back didn't change that fact. She'd let herself loose him because it was too painful to hold on too much. And now her footing was slipping and she could loose herself.

"Why now?" She briefly wondered. Why did she feel like this now? Why not when loosing Knocker, or when loosing custody to David.. Why just now? Why Jack? Why not…

Frank?

II

It had been a busy day. Too busy for worrying. And Rachel seemed better, despite signs she hadn't gotten much sleep. He hadn't either, half-wanting to knock on her door, and half-wanting her to knock on his.

She hadn't come, and he hadn't forced his company on her. It felt like he was walking a tight rope, if he tried to get close, she would push him away, if he stayed too far away, she would distant herself from him.

Working seemed to be the solution. So here they were, being guided through the offices, meeting people with strange names, telling stories about their work, and listening to stories about work there.

And all the time he kept an eye at her.

She laughed politely in the right places, but her eyes were pit dark. She didn't say much to him either, just a remark now and then. She smiled at that Viking Brute what-his-name though. Bloody good-looking Scandinavians.

Their country was good-looking too. Their cities were small, with nature literally in their back garden. They had been showed the sights, and he had to admit it was quite breathtaking. Even the bloody snow.

"Americans had to love this place," he thought dimly while watching a person in the street below slip on the ice and fall into a heap of snow. He found himself picturing Vergard-Viagrd-whatever take a fall like that.

"How about it Holloway?"

"Huh?"

"I was just asking your partner if you felt like a bar visit," Vegard repeated, still smiling at Rach.

"Now you're talking our language, matey." Frank smiled, putting an arm around Rachel, marking his territory as clearly as he could to the Viking-ancestor asshole.

"Right Goldie?" She gave him a glare, but did produce a nod to their Norwegian colleague.

"Great, I know just the place to take you. Ever had Norwegian meatballs?"

"Norwegian-what?"

"Meatballs," the Big Blondie replied cheerfully, getting another grin from Rachel. Frank wanted to stuff the meatballs down his throat and watch him choke on them.

"And I could take you skiing," the Norwegian continued cheerfully, "I wouldn't want you to get bored on this trip after all."

"No chance of that, matey," Frank cheerfully grinned. Smiling so much was staring to hurt his facial muscles.

"Hansen! Det har vært en ny brannstiftelse."

"Kommer." He turned to the two Aussies. "Sorry. There's been another arson. I better look into it. How about I come by and pick you up in a few hours? I'll give you a lift to the hotel."

"Great!" Rachel shot in before Frank could open his mouth. Last thing she need was those two butting heads like two male… mooses or something.

II

As they walked into the hotel after waving goodbye to a still cheerful Vegard Hansen, Rachel felt a cold shiver raise in her. She couldn't walk into her room again, couldn't face those eyes.

"It's just a dead moose!" she firmly told herself

Nevertheless, when Frank reached for her doorknob she felt the panic rise and she grabbed his arm hard.

He met her gaze.

"Don't Frank.. I just…" she pleaded not knowing exactly what to say to make him understand. He understood anyway. Gently taking her hand into his he led her to his room and let her sit on the bed while pacing the room a bit uncomfortably himself.

He didn't know what to do, didn't know how to handle it.. So he just paced.

"Thank you," she whispered, "Frank.. I can't stay in my room.. I just can't.."

"It's okay, Rach. Ya can just sleep in my bed tonight.. Ya can take a nap now if ya like.. I'll just do some paperwork on that evaluation we were asked to do." he said without looking at her, keep his gaze fixed on the door.

"Frank…" It was her saying his name that made him loose his cool. It sounded too damn sweet coming out her mouth and now all he could think about was making her say it more often, just like that. He turned.

She was crying. For a second he was too shocked to do anything, she hardly ever cried. Then he was holding her in his arms, letting her cry into his shoulder. She didn't resist at all. It didn't seem like her at all, just a shadow of her. She seemed okay most of the time, but when they were alone… What was going on with her? And what the bloody hell was going on with him? Inside his head he felt the inner war rage on, the one he'd been fighting ever since learning what had happened.

She's opening up to you! That's good mate! Ya can help her!

She's crying for him! He got to her.. would she cry for you, ey?

His head was spinning, and the forbidden thought of Rachel and Jack being "friendly" had entered his mind and just wouldn't go away no matter how hard he screamed at it to go into hiding.

So he just sat holding her, almost wanting to cry too.

II

He woke a bit later, feeling something soft against his palms.

Opening his eyes confused, he realized his hands were buried in Rachel's thick, wonderful hair and that he was.. Much closer than she would allow. He must have fallen asleep holding her. She had fallen asleep too, snuggling up against him. It felt too good. He had to get up. But for some reason, he stayed as he was, not moving an inch, feeling her body so close to his caused his heart to beat much faster. He could feel her breathe peacefully, sleeping like a child. Carefully, he moved a hand to touch her bare shoulders where her sweater had fallen a bit. Her skin felt so soft under his palm, so soft and so close... It would only take a slight movement of his head to touch that skin with his lips. She would never know. And her skin was so soft..

He let his lips linger on her skin for just one second, then he pulled back. It would be wrong. It was wrong! He was a pig, but.. she.. she was awake, he realized.

"Frank?"

"I'm here."

"I feel so cold," she admitted, and before she'd finished the sentence he had wrapped her harder in his arms, wanting to warm her himself.

He hadn't meant it to happen. Really he hadn't. But when she turned to look at him… he got lost in her gaze. She seemed so sad, so alone, he just wanted to remove the sadness from her features. That was all he wanted. So he kissed her.

They'd kissed before, hell, they'd kissed when he came back, but it had been just a brief touch, a welcome home gesture from her. This was different. It was a kiss to drown in and he felt his senses do just that and all the warning bells in his head fell quiet.

She knew she should have brushed him off at once. But her body was responding to his kiss, pressing itself against his, and her head was swimming.

She felt alive. She needed to feel alive

Thoughts of Jack appeared for a brief second before vanishing again when Frank pulled himself on top of her and she knew he felt her small moan into his mouth.

He was going to stop it, really he was. Then she started kissing back. And every conceding thought he had vanished from his head. Her lips was fire on his, and she had started to pull at his clothes.

The warning bells went off again. He couldn't.. It would ruin.. He had to.. Oh man!

"Rach.. ummm.. Oh God… are ya… ummm.." he tried to say but it was hard when she was practically tearing his shirt off.

"Shut up Frank," she muttered, "don't ruin it with talking."

He had no resistance left. His hands seem to have a life on their own, pulling at her clothing, wandering over forbidden areas like in many daydreams, but this was real.

Bloody hell, it was real! He could feel his hands on her warm skin, and his skin against hers and her hands on his skin. And her wet-open mouthed kisses down his neck felt pretty real too.

He would regret it later, he was sure, but he had to do this. It had been a stand-off between his head (saying "No way!") and his heart (saying "Go get some!"), but now his body had gotten into it too, and was screaming a loud "YEEEEESSSS!". 2 against 1. It was a go!

She didn't seem to hesitate either, if she had any doubts she didn't show them. Only finally when they were laying naked on top of the sheets did she pause, and only to get a good look.

She raised an eyebrow.

"Gee Holloway, are ya glad to see me, or am I just imagining it?"

He laughed and laughed and clinged on to her and she joined him, before they both turned serious, staring into each others eyes. Then she leaned up to kiss him.

II

She woke a few hours later when there was a knock on the door.

"Yo, Aussies! You in there!" came the clear, accented voice of their Norwegian colleague.

She froze. She was still lying in Frank's arms, he had snuggled his head on her stomach and looked like pure bliss, sound asleep.

"Just a sec!" she called out.

Bloody hell. Bloody crap. This couldn't be happening! This couldn't have…

Memories of staring into his eyes as he'd climaxed washed over her. Oh hell. It had! She'd wanted this when he left, but now he was back.. and.. She felt an urge to throw up. She had let it happen again. She had fallen for him.

"Sorry I'm so late," came the clear voice again, and she felt Frank beginning to stir.

"Hmmmpf?"

She tore herself away and started collecting her clothes. They were all over the place, literally.

"Hmmm.. Rach?"

"He's here," she hissed. Frank finally opened his eyes to look at her, smiling, but his smile faltered as soon as he saw her eyes. They were pit black.

"Told ya!" His head told him triumphal.

She regretted it. She regretted him. She probably wished it had been Jack.. She didn't…

"Yo mates!" came the voice again, and Frank had to fight the urge to run over and pull open the door to punch the guy in the face.

"We're coming!" she called out and turned to Frank and hissed "Get dressed!" She would deal with him later. She would deal with everything later.

As soon as Frank was decent and out of the bed, she opened the door and the Norwegian waltzed in, smiling. They smiled way too much in this country, she figured. It was almost starting to unnerve her.

"Though case?" she commented lightly. Frank's eyes were drilling holes in her back but she refused to acknowledge it, to acknowledge anything had happened. Nothing had happened.

"Yeah, we're having a line of arsons again. Mostly old churches, but some other old wood buildings too. It's probably the Satanic Worshippers again."

"Satanic Worshippers?"

"Yeah, we had a whole lot of arsons by those a few years back.. looks like we might have a new wave on our hands. Anyway, that's why I'm so late, we may have a lead this time. I know it's past midnight, but how do you feel about a drink? I could sure use one."

"We'd love one. Right Frank?" she threw out in his direction without looking.

"Sure," he smiled, but she heard a bit of anger in his voice. It didn't matter. Nothing had happened.

II

A few hours later on the bar called Camelot, Frank still felt angry. They were surrounded by Norwegian cops everywhere and the Big Blondie Brute had been way too friendly to Rachel. But now she was thankfully talking to a young girl.. Mona? Or something, and he had the Brute all to himself. The bloody Norwegian weren't even drinking!

"So Vigard.."

"Vegard," the guy corrected.

"Umm, yeah. How is life here then matey?"

"Good, good."

"Not too cold?"

"No, not when you got someone to warm you, heh, you know."

"Oh yes…" Frank muttered, finishing the bottle of beer in one sip.

"You been partners long?"

"Yeah."

"So how is your policy on.. eehhh.. mixing business with pleasure?"

"WHAT!" Frank fumed, staring hard into the guy's clear blue eyes. So the guy was after Rachel after all. Bloody thought he could have her too, probably! Well, he was going to set the record straight once and for all, and tell the guy where he could stick his Norwegian charm.

"Frank.." Rachel had approached them unnoticed, as if sensing what they were talking about.

"Rach," he replied coolly and looked up at her. All his anger melted away faster than butter on a hot, sunny tin roof. She was dead tired, probably in dire need of sleep.

"Vegard, we need a lift. Would you…" he asked, all hints of previous anger towards the man gone.

"Yeah, of course."

"Frank.." she warned, but he ignored it.

"Thanks, mate."

And no less than 30 minutes later they were standing in the hotel hallway, Vegard having waved goodbye and driven off again.

"Rach.."

"No," she snapped, "we're not gonna talk about it."

"We hafta," he insisted

"No!" she yelled and reached for doorknob, but he got in the way, staring at her, anger re-emerging.

"You're so damn stubborn Rach, sometimes I just wanna…"

"So are you! You're an asshole Holloway, now get out of my way!"

"No!" he snapped back, "not until ya tell me what the hell is going on! One moment ya push me away, the next you're tearing off my clothes! You're the one to talk about love 'em and leave 'em.."

"Shut up!" she yelled, fighting a well of tears, "Jack left me..."

He blinked confused.

"What's Jack got to do with this? We're here in Norway now, I thought ya know, away from there.. The office is not here.. I mean, it thought when we were here it wouldn't remind you as much and…" He was babbling he realized, and she cut through it.

"Don't you get it Frank! You remind me!"

He stared at her, his eyes wide open.

"Yes, I loved Jack, but you… I have always loved you! And you left me… You left me!" she screamed at him.

He just stood there while she screamed at him, feeling a dull ache somewhere in his heart.

"I told you that night you came back.. Jack helped me get over you. With him gone, there was no one! No one! And then you come sailing into town again like some knight in bloody shining armor…"

"Rachel.."

"No, bloody hell, no! I don't want to feel this again! I DON'T WANT TO LOVE YOU! I want to love Jack.. to grieve…"

"And what!" he screamed back, "Fall into some deep, deep abyss and never get up!"

"Yes! It shoulda been me! Don't ya understand, it was supposed to be me!"

Tears were streaking her face again, he noted. Finally it all made sense, her reaction to their lovemaking, her silence, her refusal to feel alive.

She had wanted to die.

"Rach…" he whispered softly, "Rach, ya know I can't let ya. I'm lost without ya.."

She didn't reply, but the anger seemed to have left her, leaving only sadness and desperation.

"Rach.. I.. I.. I love ya. You hafta know that by now." She stiffened a bit, but offered no resistance when he let a hand dry away her tears.

"And ya have David… Rach, I mean, Jack, he woulda died for you in a sec."

"He did," she whispered.

"And I woulda have too. Rach, I'm so sorry I wasn't there.. I.. Hell, if I had known, I woulda have stayed."

"But ya didn't.." came the reply and he winced at the thought.

"No," he admitted finally.

"Why Frank? Why did ya leave me?" she asked and finally lifted her gaze to meet his. Her eyes were so dark, so filled with grief it felt like someone was ripping out his heart. He had caused this.

"I…I.." his voice faltered.

"Goodnight Frank," she whispered and was through the door before he could get out a reply. He stood staring at the door a while, feeling as if he'd just lost his grounding and was falling.

"Goodnight," he whispered.

II

She didn't know what woke her. A cop instinct perhaps, a smell or maybe an unusual heat. For a second she wondered what was wrong, then she felt the heat. Fire. It had to be fire.

She was out of her bed in a matter of seconds, every thought she had on Frank. He couldn't.. She couldn't…

"Not again!" her mind cried.

The fire alarm went off as she came into the hallway and she heard shouts and screaming downstairs.

"FRAAAAAAAAANK!" she yelled as she barged into his room. The room was covered in flames, and he was lying by the bed, seemingly lifeless.

Her breath stopped dead. Her heart was ripped right out of her body. And she was falling into utter, complete darkness. Not again. NOT AGAIN!

She had no idea where she got her strength from, but she grabbed hold of him, and pulled him through the flames, through the hallway, all the time while her mind was screaming

Not again, not again, not again, not again…

And suddenly she was outside in the cold and the fresh air. The stars were twinkling above her, and she could see a young boy stare strangely at her. And then everything went blissfully dark as she wrapped her arms around Frank and cried.

II

White. It took him a while to register the sensation of seeing again. Everything was too white.

"Wha.. What…?" he muttered.

The face of the bloody Big Blondie Viking Bruteass came into view.

"How are you feeling?"

"Crappy," he replied slowly, trying to remember what the hell had happened.

The guy laughed sympathetically.

"Well, you're lucky to be alive, mate. If it hadn't been for your partner…"

"Rach!" he cried out, suddenly remembering the fire, he'd tried to get to her to warn her, but the smoke.. It had burned his lounges.

"She's okay mate," the guy said in a way fake Australian accent, "she is being checked out by the doctors, in fact she should be here any…"

The door banged open and Frank lifted his head to drink in the sight of her. She was pale, but her eyes were sparking at him. A wave of relief rushed through him, then a wave of warmth. She was smiling. At him. They could work this out. She was alive, he was alive. There was hope.

"Heya partner," she said while approaching the bed, completely ignoring poor Vegard. Frank almost felt like cheering.

"I'll just.. you know…" the guy said, before tip-toeing out of there. Either gave him a second glance.

"You got me outta there," he said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, but don't get any delusions, Holloway," she grinned.

"You've already given the poor Blondie delusions," he playfully pointed out. He got a confused stare in return.

"He was hitting on you," he explained. Her eyes grew wide.

"FRANK! He was bloody hitting on YOU!" she exclaimed

"Wh-what?" He stared in disbelief. She laughed at his expression.

"You mean…" he said disbelievingly. She nodded, then her face grew serious.

"Frank… I…I don't know where to begin…"

"I do. Rach, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't there, I'm sorry I left ya, and I'm sorry I act like a jealous pig and… I'm sorry I have pushed ya."

"It's okay Frank. You're here now."

"Yeah," he replied, "and I'm not going to go away again, no matter what. I know we're ain't exactly a perfect couple, and we ain't gonna get smooth sailing.. But I do love ya…"

"I love you too," she said quietly.

He grinned and squeezed her hand.

"So if we ain't a perfect couple… just what are we Frank?"

"We're alive, ya know. And everything else is negotiable. And we're together."

She glanced at him.

"Never figured ya for the philosophical type, Francis Holloway."

They'd done it, she realized. Life had kept throwing obstacles at them, let them cross many small an abyss, but they kept getting through it. She thought she'd lost Frank when he sailed off, and she knew she had lost Jack when he died. And now Frank was back. They'd faced the worst obstacle yet, being themselves, and they were still holding onto each other. They had crossed yet another of life's many abysses.
And she learned something about this country too. They followed their hearts here. Norwegian had a rough way of being, but like Vegard, they all followed the paths of their hearts. For better and for worse. And they were happy with their choice. They were happy.

"Never let me go, Frank."

"What, a catch like you?" he grinned

She punched him playfully, and he actually beamed down at her. He seemed to be bursting with happiness.. she had never quite seen him like this.

They were happy.

And she smiled at nothing in particular

II

Fini