Late in the afternoon the phone on Drover's Run begins to ring.

With a mouthful of chocolate cake Stevie slowly picks up the receiver trying to push the cake around her mouth so she can answer.

"Hello Drover's Run." She offers in a muffled tone.

"Oh Hi Riley. No I haven't seen him all day. When did you last sight him? Right. Well where have you looked so far?" Stevie stands listening and then asks. "Is anyone else looking for him? That would be right. What was the fight about this time? Yeah ok. I'll grab my Ute and start looking; I'll head across the back of Kilarney and work my way back to the boundary. Ok, Bye."

Hanging up the phone Stevie flicks on the kettle and hurries upstairs grabs a few items then returns to the kitchen and makes a flask of hot chocolate, grabs some food and heads outside into the pouring rain, her drizabone pulled up tightly around her neck.

She's about to drive away when she decides to grab her swag it could be a long night.

Dusk descends as Stevie criss, crosses the paddocks.

Damn Alex and his volatile relationship with Fiona he should just ditch her, it would make everyone's lives so much easier.

...

Sandra and Fiona are snuggled up sitting by the fire waiting for news from Riley as to Alex's whereabouts.

Rising to answer the door Fiona asks Riley. "Did you find him?"

"Not yet it'll be dark soon though, I'm a bit concerned with all this rain. We'll keep looking until we find him." Riley offers.

Turning back into the rain Riley thinks about the two women in Alex's life.

One he's engaged too and is warm and dry and apparently not overly concerned by Alex's disappearance and then there was Stevie his best friend who didn't even need to be asked to help, straight up she'd joined the search.

Riley grinned to himself, if anyone can find Alex it'll be Stevie she's like a blood hound when it came to him.

Riley wondered why the two weren't together.

It made sense to him and he was only fairly new to the district.

...

After yet another fight with Fiona Alex had jumped on his trail bike and sped off across Kilarney.

Damn her she didn't fight fair, she didn't understand the rules to a good fight, not like Stevie,she knew how to fight.

As the rain began Alex was too angry to worry about the fact he was only wearing a thin shirt.

With the bike at full throttle he rode up and over the many hills of Kilarney.

Down through tight gorges and rock faces he threw the bike this way and that casting caution to the wind, he replaced it with anger, speed and recklessness.

Alex's bike ripped the pasture with its knobby tyres, throwing grass and mud here and there as he went.

As he descended into one of the rocky outcrops his hand grazed the rock face slicing the flesh.

Even though he was filled with rage he registered pain and as he took his eyes off the path for a second to glance at his bloodied hand he misjudged the gap in the next outcrop, his bike slamming into one side.

Alex was thrown high into the air.

Landing awkwardly he felt intense pain and then nothing.

...

Stevie had begun her search at the far end of Kilarney and worked her way back towards the homestead as the rain poured down her vision was retarded by the wipers working at a frantic pace.

"That would be right Ryan you'd choose the coldest, wettest night of the year to go missing." She mumbled to herself.

Something caught her eye in the headlights and she turned the car around.

Smiling to herself she muttered. "Tyre tracks! Bingo!"

Following the tracks as far as she could Stevie eventually had to abandon the car and head out on foot.

She'd walked and climbed for around fifteen minutes when she noticed scrap marks on the rocks, looking down with her torch she notices blood and flesh.

"Jesus Alex!"She whispers to herself

She feels her heart pounding.

"Alex!"She screams.

No reply, nothing just the sound of the driving rain and wind.

With urgency she calls and searches in the darkness.

Her torch hits the bike wedged between the rocks but no Alex.

Climbing over the bike she finds wide gouge marks in the mud.

Following she finds him a short distance away.

Under a rocky outcrop he's covered in blood, mud, grass and grazes.

...

"Alex! Can you hear me?" She yells above the noise of the rain.

She's aware of her own heart beat as she listens to see if he's breathing.

Please don't let him die she silently prayers. Oh dear God please don't let him die.

He has no colour and is so cold she'd swear he was already dead.

"Alex! Wake up!" She yells.

His lips move but she can't hear him.

Placing her ear near his mouth she yells "Say it again."

She grins as tears fall down her face.

Taking his face in her hands she says." I smell nice! You're a weirdo Ryan."

A tiny smile tries to turn the corner of his mouth up as his body shakes and shivers.

"Alex tell me what hurts?" She yells.

Again she puts her ear to his mouth and softly he says "Right leg broken, the rest scratches."

He passes out.

Stevie assesses his leg but is unsure in the half light if it's broken but splints it as best she can just in case.

Thank fully he's out of the rain but soaking wet and Stevie realizes he's hypothermic.

He's in trouble.

...

Stevie leaves him and runs and climbs as quickly as she can back to the car and grabs her swag and the thermos of hot chocolate.

By the time she returns Alex's colour is nonexistent.

She listens to his breathing and his heart beat, neither is good.

Quickly she lays the swag beside him and then proceeds to cut his wet clothing from his body and struggles to softly and slowly move him onto the swag and then covers him over.

Dragging her drizabone off she throws it across the swag...

Removing her jumper she gently wraps it around his head to try and stop heat escaping from his body.

Stripping off her jeans she folds them and wraps them around his neck.

There is no chance of a fire as all the timber is wet so she'll have to keep him warm as best she can until morning when hopefully someone will find them.

Without thought she climbs into the swag beside him.

...

Trying to remember her survival training for hypothermia she thinks head, neck, armpits and...

Skin to skin warmth anything quicker could cause all sorts of complications.

Muttering to herself she says "Not hands or feet...Neck, head, armpits and...Neck, head, armpits and groin! Geez Alex just as well you're unconscious."She says to no one in particular.

Stripping off her t-shirt she pushes herself into his form trying to warm his torso then she slides her bare leg in between his legs to try and warm his groin.

Resting her head on his bare chest she listens and hears his very slow heart beat.

He's like a block of ice.

Draping herself over his lifeless body she prayers she not too late.

...

Half an hour later Stevie moves herself behind him and cuddles in trying to warm his back.

For hours she repeats the process, front, back, front, back finally she has him lying on his back and she's on top of him and she falls asleep exhausted.

The rain continues to beat down as the icy wind whips itself across the swag.

...

Nat and Riley have driven for hours and as they return to the house Riley quips. "It's in darkness they must have gone to bed!"

Nat shakes his head and offers. "He could be dead out there and they're sleeping! Incredible."

Riley knocks loudly for ten minutes and finally a light goes on and Fiona opens the door.

Sleepily she asks "Have you found him?'

Riley answers "No we haven't, we just came to see if he'd come home."

Fiona shakes her head and says "Just go to bed and start searching in the morning Riley he's probably asleep somewhere safe and dry."

As she's about to close the door Riley offers" Stevie will find him!"

Fiona's features change and she asks. "What's she doing looking for him? Why did you ask her?"

Riley grins and says "She volunteered, I didn't have to ask her."

Fiona looks at him and says "Come and get me at daybreak and I'll help you look for him."

...

Stevie wakes flat out on top of Alex his cold hands moving up and down her back.

Lifting her head she says. "Alex! Are you awake?"

Without opening his eyes he states. "My hands are hurting."

"Put them under my armpits Alex." She offers.

Stevie smiles to herself as he does as he's told without question.

Both are only in their underwear, he has a jumper wrapped around his head and her jeans around his neck and she's lying on top of him and he doesn't question any of it.

Within minutes he's asleep again and she stays listening to his heart beat, stronger now but still not as it should be.

Relief washes over her.

He's going to be alright.

...

Riley knocks and Fiona opens the door and asks. "Ok where do we start?"

Nat advises where they've already searched.

Fiona asks. " Where was Stevie looking? I rang Drover's and they said she isn't home."

Riley smiles and says. "I bet she found him."

Fiona isn't happy at that thought; not at all.

...

Alex wakes and everything hurts, he's cold but not freezing.

Weakly he smiles at Stevie asleep on his chest.

As he registers her bare knee between his legs and his hands under her armpits his smile broadens.

She has her arms by her sides and his hands are wedged in her armpits, he feels the softness of her breasts against his palms and despite his best efforts to think of something else he's aroused by her closeness.

He's thinking of anything and everything but her skin is so soft and her beautiful hair on his chest.

Moving his head slightly he inhales and closes his eyes thinking of the opportunity before him.

"Alex!" Stevie's voice states sounding alarmed jolting him from his delightful daydream.

Pushing herself up slightly she looks at him and asks. "Do you feel alright?"

"Oh yeah!" He replies grinning.

"Oh good, your heart beat changed and I was worried." She offers.

As she sits upright he watches as her expression changes and she quickly moves off him.

Realization dawns and she grabs the drizabone covering herself.

A warmth flows through her and she chastises herself for feeling the way she does.

"Can I have my jeans and jumper please?" She asks.

Slightly confused he looks at her and she gestures at his head and neck.

Smiling he unwinds both and hands them to her.

"Close your eyes." She states.

"What?" He asks.

"Alex close them." She demands.

...

Ten minutes later Stevie has checked his leg in the daylight and it's definitely broken.

"Alex are you hungry or thirsty?" She asks without looking at him embarrassment still present.

"I'm thirsty." He replies.

Quickly she pours him a hot drink from the thermos and hands it to him.

Wrapping his hand around the cup and her hand he says. "Thank you Stevie."

She feels like she's been struck by lightning at his touch.

She smiles weakly and offers." I'm glad you're ok when I found you I thought you were ..."

She can't finish her sentence the words stick in her throat.

She busies herself with her drink.

Eventually she offers. "I'll have to go and get help Alex, I've pulled a muscle moving you into the swag, I won't be able to move you on my own."

Finishing his drink he lies back down and says. "Stevie something's wrong."

Casting her cup to one side she's beside him in a flash and says "Oh god Alex what's wrong?"

She watches as he closes his eyes but doesn't answer.

"Alex! Alex!" She calls but he doesn't respond.

Moving swiftly she checks his breathing which appears fine, she feels his pulse in his neck and it's rapid, she rests her head on his chest.

She's alarmed at the speed his heart is beating.

With a hand on either shoulder she says "Alex please wake up."

Opening his eyes he looks at her, she smiles and says "You scared me Alex. What's wrong?"

He gestures with his index finger for her to come closer, leaning down she waits for him to speak, but instead he kisses her.

...

For a moment she's shocked but she lets him it's what she's wanted for such a long time.

His lips are so soft and inviting .

Reaching around her, his hands touch her bare back.

As the kiss intensifies neither want it to stop but Riley voice halts everything.

"Alex! Stevie!" Riley yells.

Stevie breaks the kiss and says "Oh God Alex I'm so sorry."

And then she yells. "Over here Riley!"

...