"Are you done yet?" Race bellowed.

"We're still working, Mr. Bannon," someone answered.

"Let them do their job, Race," Benton said calmly.

"My daughter and your son are with some wacko in God knows where and you want me to be calm?!? I can't sit here and wait for a bunch of green agents fiddle with a bunch of wires!" He sat down with his back to the door. "I can't believe this isn't over yet."

Benton sighed. "I wish I never took you to Japan. Then this never would have started. That was the biggest mistake I have ever made."

"Those are heavy words, Doc."

Hadji put a hand on his shoulder. "It wasn't your fault, Dr. Quest. Jonny and Jessie are adults. They came because they wanted to. You shouldn't waste your time blaming yourself. Think instead of how you are going to welcome them when they come home, because I am certain that they will be home very soon."

"I hope you're right, Hadji," Benton said tiredly. "Because I don't think I can take much more of this."

Jessie came to eventually. They had crash-landed less than smoothly in some clearing that Jonny had managed to steer them into. She felt a warm stickiness on her temple and didn't even bother to check. She knew it was blood. Her vision cleared slowly and she saw Jonny slumped against the controls. Her back rose with each breath.

"Jonny," she said hoarsely. "Jonny."

He grunted and his head twitched. She undid her safety belt and went to his side. She touched his shoulder and gently pulled him back against the seat. He had a large gash on his eyebrow, a cut on his cheek, and a bump beginning to form on his forehead. There was no blood on his clothes and no joints in weird angles. He groaned and opened his eyes.

"Lemme guess. Somebody decided to do jumping jacks on my head right?"

Jessie would have laughed, more in relief than anything else, but she felt too awful.

"I think we should get out of here. We're lucky it hasn't blown up yet."

Jonny turned the handle of his door, but it wouldn't budge. He swiveled in his seat and kicked it open with both feet. He grabbed the portable radio from the dashboard, and then jumped down. Jessie held the first aid kit she had found earlier, and jumped after him. He had to steady her with one hand as she began to tilt dangerously.

"Lean against me, Jess," he said gently.

He stopped to pick up a metal shard that had broken off, then he more or less dragged her away from the plane and into the trees.

"We shouldn't go very far," she said. "We have to stay close to the plane just in case somebody spotted us going down."

"I know."

They walked for a few more minutes then Jonny helped her sit down at the base of a large tree. They could still see the plane from where they were. He sat next to her and began sawing at her wire ties with the shard. Sweat began to bead his brow when he finally managed to cut her free. Jessie loosened her wrist muscles and began working on him. He was free in minutes. Seeing the cuts on his face and hands more clearly, she opened the kit and began to minister to him.

"The last thing we need is an infection," she said. "This place is teeming with germs." She ripped open an alcohol pad. "This is going to sting a little."

"I'll try not to scare the birds away."

She cleaned up his cuts and bandaged them. She took his hands and bandaged them up as well. The whole time, he was watching her with a gleam in his eye.

"Leave some for you," he said huskily.

"I know," she said, not looking at him.

"Jessie," he began uncertainly. "What happened up there…did you mean it?"

"Did I ever do things I didn't mean?" she answered brusquely, her heart beginning to thump wildly.

"No," he said quietly. He took her face in his hands. "Look at me."

She did and her heart erupted with joy at what she saw in his face. In every line and every movement she could see the love he had for her. Had always had for her. She hadn't seen it before because she hadn't looked. She didn't want to look. She was happy with their friendship and didn't want to change it. But now, she loved him and everything had changed.

Gently, he cleaned her cuts and bandaged them as she did for him. Her breathing became erratic as his touch affected her in ways that she never thought they could. He brushed her hair from her forehead and pressed a kiss on her cheek.

"I thought you loved Hadji," he whispered, as he took her into his arms.

She rested her cheek against his chest and snuggled against his side, her arms wrapped themselves around his waist.

"I did once. Things change."

"Yes, they do." He smiled at her. "I guess this whole thing wasn't too bad. It brought you to your senses."

She snorted. "Oh really? I wasn't aware that I had lost them."

"When it came to me you didn't even have them."

She looked up at him. "I can't live without you. I know that now."

"I always knew it," he said with a smile. "I love you, you know. I won't live without you. I refuse to. It'll go against my better judgment if I do."

She grinned and kissed him. "Good."

Sighing, Jonny pulled away from her. "As much as I would like to explore that part of our relationship, we have to be rescued. Bernard's body is gonna attract animals soon and we need to get out of here." He glanced at his wrist. "I wish I still had my Questworld watch. That would be really useful right now."

He picked up the radio and began sending a distress signal. Jessie kept a lookout for dangerous wildlife.

"Watch out for brightly colored frogs and anything that flies," she warned.

"Yeah, no kidding," he said.

She rested her head on his shoulder and let his voice lull her to a deep sleep. It had been a long, long day.

Race busted through the doors, his eyes wild. The SWAT team respectfully backed away from him as he walked through them. Benton and Hadji walked behind him.

"Have you heard anything from Jonny and Jessie?" he asked a nearby police officer.

"No, sir. Dr. Bernard threatened their lives if he saw anything else in the air near him."

"Do you at least know which direction they were flying in?"

"South, sir."

"Let's get to the jet, Benton," he said. "We need to find those kids."

"We need shelter," Jonny said as the sun began to set.

"The plane is our only choice," Jessie said. "I figure, if it hasn't blown up yet it won't blow up at all."

"With our luck, it just might," he said dryly.

"True."

He stood and made his way back to the clearing. Jessie manned the radio in case someone actually responded. She was losing hope as Jonny sent out message after message and no one answered.

Jonny climbed into the plane. The humid rainforest weather was doing nothing for Bernard's body. It was already beginning to smell. Holding his breath, he grabbed the corpse's feet and dragged it towards the door. With no compunction, he tossed the body outside. He jumped down after it and dragged it in the opposite direction from Jessie. Unceremoniously, he left it in the middle of the forest to rot or be eaten. Whichever came first.

"Jess," he called. "Your temporary home awaits."

She came up from where he had left her and climbed onboard. He had covered the area where Bernard had lain with tarp that was rolled in the back. With her help, they removed two of the four passenger seats and the bloodied co-pilot's seat to make room. Then, he closed the doors and locked down for the night. Jonny had taken off his coat, tie, and shirt earlier and was in his undershirt. He laid the jacket on the floor and rolled up the shirt and tie. Jessie took off her own jacket and rolled it up. The laid down on their makeshift bed.

"I really wish I had that watch," Jonny said.

Jessie laughed. "You and me both."

"I'm not sorry that we have this time, though," he said, turning to face her.

She looked suspiciously at him. "You think you're gonna get lucky, Quest?"

He blushed to her surprise. "How ladylike," he muttered.

She touched the tip of his nose with her own. "I'll show you ladylike."

His laugh was cut off by her lips against his. He felt her hands twine in his hair and pulled her tighter against him. He could feel her curves against him and was dizzy with desire. But he didn't want their first time to be inside a crashed plane that still had the scent of death. He may be used to staying in the worst possible accommodations, but this was not where he wanted to make love to Jessie for the first time. He wanted to lay beside in a bed, with soft music playing, wine glasses nearby and flowers surrounding them. Although it took all his strength to pull away from her, he did. He rested his head on hers and closed his eyes. Jessie was surprised at his refusal, but understood. She closed her eyes and soon they were asleep.