"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty." Jim gently shook the shoulder of the man sleeping in his lap.
Blair stirred and groaned, sitting up and rubbing at his stiff back. "What time is it?"
"After 8 a.m. You really slept."
"I'm not the only one," Blair grumbled, searching for his thermos of coffee. "Did the storm stop?"
"Yeah, hours ago, around 2:00 this morning. Hungry?"
"Mm-hm." Blair nodded, accepting the banana and trail mix. "Are we going to try and find our way out now?"
"Eat first. I'll do a little reconnaissance and see if I can figure out where we are and how to get back." Jim pushed a larger hole in the snow cave's entrance and crawled out. As he stood, he realized just how cramped their quarters had been for the last twenty hours. Stretching out aching muscles, he walked several yards south of their position, scouting out the trail markers with his sentinel vision. Satisfied that he knew the way out, he walked off the trail to relieve himself, then returned to the shelter.
Blair was munching trail mix while holding the breast pump to his chest when Jim returned. The soft whir of the battery operated motor sounded loud in the close confines of the snow cave. Jim smiled. "How come you open up your shirts for that thing, but not for me?"
"You're a lecherous old man, anybody remind you of that lately?" Blair smiled up at him. "I couldn't take it anymore; they hurt," he explained apologetically. "So, did you find our way out?"
Jim settled next to his partner and wrapped an arm around him, pulling him close. "Yup. The snow's deeper, but I can still make out the trail markers. How much longer?" he asked, indicating the pump.
"Oh, give me another five minutes for the other side, just enough so I don't ache. I'm so ready to get out of here."
"Ditto that sentiment," Jim replied, beginning to pack up their accessories. By the time he was finished, Blair was tucking the pump back in his pocket and buttoning up his shirts and coat.
"Ready when you are, Fearless Leader." Blair crawled out of the cave, stretched and donned his backpack.
Jim followed suit and was soon headed down the trail.
"Hey, Jim!" Blair shouted, waving his arms above his head.
The Sentinel turned, looking a bit puzzled. "What now, Chief?"
"The tree?" Blair pointed to their prize. "We're not leaving it. Not after all that!" He began brushing the heavy snow from its branches.
Jim gave an expressive sigh and headed back toward their camp. "This is the last time I let you talk me into this," he snorted, lifting the wet trunk to his shoulder and starting out again.
Blair took up the rear, as before, chuckling under his breath. Jim was too easy where his Guide was concerned.
They were nearly out of the woods when Jim stopped, cocking his head, listening. "You hear that?"
"Hear what?" Blair strained his ears in the quiet of the mountains.
"A chopper."
Just as the words left Jim's mouth, the soft sound of distant helicopter blades reached Blair's ears. "What would a chopper be doing out here?" he wondered.
"Probably Simon, sending out a search party. We are just a tad overdue, you know. Let's get this thing back to the truck." Jim hefted the tree again and finished the short hike back out to the road.
As they were tying the tree into the bed of the pickup, a helicopter flew over. Jim and Blair both waved their arms in the air, Jim indicating that the chopper could leave, they were okay.
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