Summary: Naley; Daley is wondering the woods one day when Nathan sneaks up on her, surprising her and causing her to fall and break her ankle. What will the group do without their leader and what will Daley and Nathan do when tensions between them run high?

Daley looked around. The jungle was quite comforting. There was the unfamiliar plants and the tall trees. The sunlight glittered above the many leaves, creating small shafts of light in which Daley could clearly see bugs and dust and other things. She tried not to think of how far out she'd gone. It would only make her more nervous.

She sighed and sat down for a break, wondering how much longer it would take her to find a tree with blossoming fruit. It seemed that they had picked all of the trees dry and didn't have anything to spare. That wasn't good; it meant that the kids would have to venture deeper into the forest.

Looking around, Daley pondered whether or not she was going in circles. It seemed that she had passed this tree just a few minutes ago, and a few minutes before that.

"Seems like someone's a little lost," said a voice from behind her. Startled, Daley jumped to her feet, losing her balance and tripping over a long log on the ground.

She knew it wasn't like her to be unprofessional, but ever since she had lied to Nathan and told her that she didn't feel about him as Melissa said he had, she'd been a bit jumpy around him. His voice gave her butterflies in her stomach, his presence made her heart pound uncontrollably. Oh, how she wished she hadn't lied and she'd gone right up and told him how she really felt.

Daley let out a painful yelp and tried to sit up. But she grimaced as a horrible pain shot through her right leg. She lifted her head to look back and see that it was bended in some unusual way. She gulped and looked up at Nathan, who was staring with wide eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

"What do you care?" Daley asked. It was only then that she realized it wasn't just Nathan's presence that was making her voice hoarse; she was in serious pain. But she hadn't felt that she needed to take back her remark. He had, after all, agreed with her that they could never be together.

Daley let out a sigh and blew her hair out of her face. She didn't need to be with Nathan right now. He only made her angry and confused and…nervous…But she didn't stop him from reaching down and placing a hand on her shoulder. She took a deep breath, wondering whether or not to make him remove it. She couldn't suppress a shudder at his touch. She wanted to pull away, show him she didn't care about him; but his fingers on her skin was so soothing, especially now that her ankle was throbbing.

"Let me help you stand up," Nathan said. He grabbed her arm tightly and helped her sit up. Daley let out a grown of pain as her ankle moved from its spot. He lifted her up and helped her onto her feet. Daley hoped to find her strength returning in her ankle, but it didn't seem to be coming back.

"Ready?" Nathan asked, his attractive brown eyes staring into her own. Daley gulped, but not because of her ankle; Nathan was so close to her…so close…

Nathan let go, and Daley tried her best to balance on her right ankle and slowly place her left ankle back on the ground. Before she was able to stand properly, her leg gave out and she toppled over into Nathan's arms. Immediately he grabbed her, hoisting her up around the waist. Daley hated feeling so vulnerable, but she loved the way Nathan's arms were wrapped around her.

"What are we gonna do now?" she asked, clutching onto his arm to balance herself in his grasp. Nathan didn't answer at first.

"Are you sure you can't stand?" he questioned quickly. Daley nodded and let out a yelp as she slipped slightly. But Nathan didn't let her go; he seemed determined to protect her. Thinking that was sweet, she let Nathan hoist her up and carry her as if she was a cat. She was surprised he could lift so much weight; he must have muscles, she thought.

She shook her head vigorously, trying to get that thought out of her head as Nathan held her in his arms. His hand was clutching her side; the other one was around her bottom, not purposely, she supposed. She sighed and looked around at the trees as Nathan ran as fast as he could back towards camp.

"Nathan…Nathan…" she said wearily. "I'm getting a little dizzy." Nathan stopped and looked down at her wearily before hurrying even faster back to camp.

He leaped through the forest with amazing speed, Daley clutched very tightly in his arms.

Nathan felt himself growing tired from carrying Daley so far. He was already worried enough, especially when he had realized that his hand was placed on Daley's bottom. But he didn't know whether to remove it (that would look suspicious) or keep it there (that would also look suspicious). He just continued running and didn't change anything, other than his speed. He was gradually slowing down as they came closer and closer to the beach.

He didn't see the log right in front of him, until his foot caught on the rough bark and he lost his balance. Letting out a scream, with Daley in his arms, he tumbled over. They rolled on the ground until they came to a complete stop. Nathan was panting wearily. Daley was on top of him, her eyes closed and her hand clutching his shirt. He lifted his head and said, "Daley? Daley?" He wrapped his arms around her and attempted to shake her to maybe jolt some sort of energy, but he wasn't able to, for someone interrupted him.

"Woh, am I interrupting something?" Eric said. Nathan looked over and groaned. This was the last thing he wanted. Eric would sure spread it that he had found Daley lying on top of Nathan, and that Nathan's hands were on her butt.

"Dude, she's unconscious," Nathan said wearily, still exhausted from his run. Eric widened his eyes and yelled to the others. Nathan looked at Daley's face. He was used to seeing her so helpless, so vulnerable. He hated that, and felt as if he was taking advantage of her, but he didn't want to move his hands.

"Woo, Daley!" Nathan heard Taylor say.

"That's expected," Melissa sighed.

"Ew, gross," Lex groaned. He obviously didn't want to see his older sister lying on top of someone; that must've been awkward. Jackson didn't say anything, but Nathan could sense he was there.

At the comments, Nathan immediately removed his hands and moaned. He wanted to get up and show them that nothing had happened, that nothing was going on, but he was afraid he might hurt Daley even more in the process. "Guys, she's hurt," Nathan said. Daley let out a small groan and moved slightly against him. He couldn't help shivering.

"Never heard that excuse before," Taylor commented. "Nathan, everyone knew you two were gonna do this sometime."

"I didn't," Lex said loudly.

Nathan was now offended. "Guys, I'm serious," he said, trying to pry her hand from his shirt. "I think something happened to her ankle. I had to carry her back, and now she's out."

"What do we do now?" asked Jackson. Everyone was silent. It seemed that whenever there was a problem, Daley was the one to solve it. Now that Daley was unconscious, where would they turn?

"I say we leave Nathan here. He's probably enjoying this," Eric taunted.

"Shut up, man!" Nathan snapped. But he couldn't disagree. He was enjoying the feeling of Daley being so helpless, in his arms as if pleading for assistance. He also enjoyed the feeling of being her hero; there weren't many times he was able to do that, but now he could show her that he could be a leader, and he could help her.

"She looks totally out of it," Melissa piped up.

Nathan spoke seriously now. "I'm afraid to move her. She might hurt her ankle even more, and I'm not sure how to handle broken bones."

"Oh sure," Taylor said loudly. "Of course you want to leave her on top of you. But what happens when she wakes up?" At first, Nathan was offended greatly by what she said, but then he realized she may have been right. What if Daley woke up above him and thought that he was taking advantage of her?

"We need to move her closer to camp," Jackson suggested. "Then someone will have to watch over her and give her water until she wakes up."

"I vote Nathan!" Eric laughed. Nathan rolled his eyes and tried once again to pry Daley's hand off of his shirt. She wouldn't let go. She moved slightly, letting out a small groan and moving her hand to his face. Nathan thought desperately that she wasn't helping him. Eric laughed as Nathan touched her hand, which was on his cheek. He wanted so badly for her to remove it, and yet he loved it just where it was.

"How should we lift her?" asked Lex, obviously trying to avoid the subject of his sister acting so strangely.

"The strongest person will have to lift her head, make sure it's okay. If she's dizzy, she probably also hit her head, not just her ankle," Jackson developed a plan. "I'll lift her head, and Taylor and Melissa will each grab a foot. Jackson, carry her waist and make sure that she's straight."

Nathan liked this idea, but as Daley nuzzled her face against his chest he was beginning to think it was a bad one. What if she was hurt in the process? He couldn't let that happen to his…he tried to push that thought it the back of his mind. Was he actually about to call her "his Daley?" He shook his head and avoided the subject as everyone got ready to lift her up and into the tent.

"Sorry dude, looks like your daydream is over," Eric joked. Nathan didn't say anything as Daley was lifted carefully above him. He crawled out from underneath her as they began to carry her to the tent. He followed them closely, by Eric's side. Looking Daley over, he saw that all in all she seemed okay.

There was one thing he noticed that gave him chills. Eric's right hand was on Daley's bottom. He gulped and said, "Are you sure you don't want me to help, Eric?"

"Dude, don't you think you've helped enough for one day?" he said, double meaning in his words. Nathan narrowed his eyes and watched as the gingerly brought her inside the girls' tent. He sighed and followed them inside, wondering how they were going to survive when Daley was so out of it.

Who would be their leader?