”Et voilà!” she sat back and rubbed her hands together as the twigs and sticks started to crackle.

Both Jane and Tag smiled warmly. In all the excitement, none of them had realised how cold they had gotten until the heat started to seep into their bodies.

”You did well baby.” Jane wrapped Maura in a hug, kissing her head fondly. Maura nuzzled back into Jane’s embrace, feeling safer in that moment than she had since they’d set foot on the lifeboat. As Jane’s long arms enveloped her in love, Maura sighed happily.

The small group sat in comfortable silence for many minutes, content to watch the flames dancing over the wood. The branches filled the cave with a warm, sweet smell.

”I’m hungry.” Tag announced suddenly.

Jane sighed. She didn’t want to move despite the rough rock that dug painfully into her rear. ”There’s food in my bag.” she nodded to where Maura had stashed their packs.

As Tag pulled a zip-lock bag from the pack, his face lit up with all the excitement of a small child on Christmas morning. He removed the simple cheese roll and inhaled deeply before sinking his teeth into the bread.
Jane looked at him expectantly. ”Oh, yeah. Sorry.” he mumbled through his mouthful before handing another bag to Jane before searching for another.

Jane took the bag slowly, removing the simple meal and tearing it carefully in half. She handed the larger half to Maura and took a bite, careful not to drop crumbs in the doctors hair.

That smell. It was familiar, warm. It was fire.

John Ford stumbled blindly through the rapidly encroaching darkness. In all the chaos he’d completely lost his way. The capsizing of the lifeboat had both scared and relieved him. People bobbed around him like buoys and he’d swum desperately to as many as he could, praying that one of them would be Elaine. As he found himself swept towards the island, he felt his chest tighten. Elaine hadn’t been there, not that he could see. There were no visible bodies, no debris, nothing to show for the trauma they had survived.

Pushing past large ferns and assorted foliage, John literally followed his nose towards the smell of the camp-fire.

”Hello?” he called into the darkness. ”Is anyone there?”