"I don’t know if I can get down right now," Angie said, her voice hoarse and dry.

"You stay there, love. We will get you down, oh God Angie!" Rollie yelled up to her, his hand touching the tree trunk as if it were her.

Only then, did she cry; her sobs as much relief as some sort of body mechanism to help her release all the epinephrine that she had utilized during flight. Rollie couldn’t stand not being able to get to her, to hold her and she moved closer to the tree’s trunk, coming down one branch as she collected herself.

"No Ange! Just stay where you are! We are going to help you!" Rollie told her, putting his hands to his head as Francis whistled and shouted for help. Rollie also pulled out his cell phone, alerting Mira back at the site of the bonfire.

Angie had her arms wrapped around the tree, her composure broken again and Rollie moved around the tree like a circling animal waiting for prey. He put a clenched fist to his mouth as he paced. Francis returned, two other field operatives joining him. By the time Mira arrived, with Michael, Angie had once again returned to calmness and was moving down another branch.

A helicopter suddenly loomed over them, sending a harness down in proximity of the tree. It stayed above the tree line, making it difficult to see where to actually move the harness to as everyone held their breath. Angie could see the harness swaying to the other side of the tree and she tried to reach for it.

Everyone shouted at the same time; "NO!"

She looked bewildered and exhausted as she once again grabbed the tree. The helicopter made another blind stab with the harness and once again, it bounced against the other tree and not close enough to Angie to grasp.

"Oh God!" she cried, "get it together!" and Rollie knew she was trying to talk herself into something. She moved over, further onto the branch, away from the tree, edging herself out as the limb began to be thinner, her weight starting to make it bow. The harness brushed her head and she made a grab for it. At the same time, Rollie held his breath. He heard the branch snap and at the same time, saw her legs dangling above them. She had gotten the harness!

There were shouts and the spotlight from the other helicopter tracked through the trees, shining an almost ethereal light on her as the harness cable was lowered, moving Angie closer to the ground. With her hair hiding her face, she came closer and the force of the wind from the helicopter was making everyone else have a hard time seeing, save one. Rollie stood, his arms out, his face looking up, his eyes clear.

Angie felt arms enclose around her and she cried out for she could smell his aftershave, his scent and she clung to him as others were untangling her from the harness. She would not let go of him, nor he of her. He carried her out of the forest, her face buried in his chest. She could hear his strong heart pounding in his chest and she knew that her own heart was pounding against him, matching him beat to beat. He held her tightly; his endearing words spoken softly in her ears and it was the music she had been longing to hear.

She was in their bed. She had been given something for her pain as the reality of her bruised body had started to hit her on the way home. The medics on site had checked her out, bandaged her cuts and given her fluids. At this moment, she felt nothing but a dizzying warmness. She knew there were people coming in and out downstairs, and figured it was morning for she could see the daylight coming from the skylight above the bed. No one disturbed her. Rollie had seen to that. He kept them at bay downstairs and she was glad. She had taken a look at her face when she had gotten home, shocked at what she saw. She had never looked this bad.

Rollie had been so gentle and understanding. He had not ask her a thing about her ordeal at the orchard. He had bathed her, redressed her cuts and even dried her hair. She had joked with him that she could get use to this kind of treatment and he had looked so strange. He kissed her deeply but almost in reverent formality. Breakfast had been brought up to her on tray and she smiled, for his runny eggs and burnt toast were delicious.

Rollie, for his part, had watched Angie fall asleep quickly after he had attended her that night. He couldn’t sleep. He could only watch her. He knew she had been through a terrible ordeal but her resilience and strength were incredible. He could not have imagined how she had made it up that tree! He could see her bruised mouth, the cuts at the edges where the gag had been bound too tight. He had counted every scratch on her as he bathed her. His hatred of Czewt knew no boundaries. He had pushed a wandering strand of hair away from her face in the early hours of morning, laying beside her and listening to her breathe. She laid on her side facing him, her arms together bent in front of her with her hands crossed over each other near her face. He had suddenly remembered her wedding band as he looked at her small hands, cut and scratched before him. Gently, he took the small ring from his little finger and placed it back on her left ring finger. It slid easily into place, the small, lampblack Rune figures of love and trust already called into use in the past twenty-four hours.

"Angie, love- I’ll never let you out of my sight again, that’s a promise," he told her sleeping face.

By noon that day, a very unusual but the first allowed visitor to see her, came into the bedroom. Dr. Hormoz Terzis, a little winded from the stairs entered and smiled as she sat, propped up in bed.

"Oh my gracious! Aren’t you a sight! Had quite the experience, did we?" he said to her, as Rollie got him a chair to sit in beside the bed. Rollie sat on the other side of the bed, next to her as Dr. Terzis fawned over her.

"I must say, when I realized what your husband was mumbling about with the detective, it was like a bolt of lightening came and struck me here," and he pointed to his chest, "of course, it was probably my pacemaker acting up!" he chuckled and then continued, "the fungus was so enthralling, I had to call him!"

"It was the best thing that could have happened, Dr. Terzis," Angie said, hoarsely and he smiled, touching his chest over his heart. Rollie had told her all about the incredible time trying to find her and how Dr. Terzis and Francis had come through.

"Well, I just wanted to stop by and let you know that you gave this old Doctor quite a bit of excitement. I do hope you will continue to call on me and let me know how the ‘biz’ is going, eh?" he added.

"You bet!" Rollie replied as Angie smiled. She leaned over the bed and Dr. Terzis leaned forward. She kissed him sweetly on the cheek and she could see him blush ten shades of red.

"Oh dear, you’ve made my old pacemaker do flip-flops now, my dear!" he exclaimed. He looked at Rollie and stood up slowly; "You take good care of this adorable girl. She is a treasure!"

"She is that, Dr. Terzis. Thank you for stopping by to see her," Rollie told him and together they went downstairs, Rollie assisting him slightly. He waved back at Angie and she leaned back on her propped up pillows, thankful that there were men so dedicated to their work and cared so much for human life that they would spend their lifetime in a place like a lab in order to help others.

The afternoon came and Rollie had been downstairs for sometime. Angie imagined he was making up, yet once again to Ben Poe for his absence from the set. She felt that there was probably nothing now that could save Rollie’s job now. She wanted up, out of the bed and she got up, gingerly feeling the burn of her legs as she walked to the bathroom. Although sore, she felt well. She made a face at herself in the mirror and brushed her teeth. She dressed and made her way downstairs, seeing Rollie at the workbench, looking very intense on whatever he was working on.

"Hmmm, whatcha got there?" she asked, and Rollie nearly jumped out off the stool he was sitting on.

She looked over his shoulder and before him, he had been processing the mask of Eckvara from the GARP. She realized that he must have put the broken plaster cast of her face back together again and she stared at the very real face of Eckvara.

"Oh!" she said surprised and he spun around, trying to shield her from it.

"Oh Angie, listen. I told Mira I would finish it so that they could use it still. I know you don’t want to talk about what happened out there and I don’t want to scare you, love but you know Czewt is still on the loose."

Hearing his name made her blotch slightly in the face but she clenched her jaw tightly and proceeded to tell him; "You got the electromagnification field set too high there." She reached over and turned it down. It hummed softly and he smiled, and reached for her, picking her up in his lap as he sat back at the workbench.

"What do I do next?" he asked her, as he saw her brain clicking away. She reached over and worked her own magic with the computer. He pressed his face into her hair, smelling her and kissed the nape of her neck.

"Rollie, hey- I’m working here!" Angie told him, brushing his lips away as if he were a fly.

"Angie, you don’t have to do this. I don’t want to get you upset."

She stopped typing on the computer and turned around and hugged him; "Okay, come over here to the couch. Since you haven’t asked, I’m just going to tell you what happened. It will be good for you as well as me."

She slid out of his lap, as he smiled tentatively. He was shocked of course, at the ordeal she told him about that afternoon. But what really got him was the strange powers that she said had come from Czewt and that the man Baiel had some strange power of his own. Rollie was curious anyway with the two planted operatives that had been following Czewt like family for over two years. He knew Baiel was in the hospital and that Mira told him, he had survived the surgery.

"Angie, you know that Mira is still looking for Czewt," Rollie said softly.

"Yeah, I figured as much, still going for the big arrest, showing up Michael and all," Angie commented, making a face.

"That’s why I’m getting this mask done, for her- one last time. I have already told her that we are through with helping them. She took it very well," he told her, nodding his head.

"What? No more F/X with Midtown-South? That’s like taking booze away from a wino, Rol. Why did you tell her that?"

"For you, love. I don’t want anything else to happen. You and I have been through so much helping Leo, and now Mira. I won’t have this happen again!"

"Rollie, don’t do it for me. If you are going to do it, do it for yourself. But Rollie…" and she bent over, and kissed him softly as he closed his eyes and he lingered there, even after she had pulled away, "you are a Tyler and there ain’t no way you can live the straight and narrow…" Angie said, copping a Dingo Tyler accent that made him laugh. She had actually gotten it down pretty good.

"Do you know that I love you desperately?" he asked her, seriously.

"Yes I do. I have known that since I was a child," she replied, and kissed the tip of his nose as she stood up, "Now, what’s a man got to do to get a drink around here!" she continued in the Dingo voice.

He was up in a flash and into the kitchen as she made her way over slowly, laughing. He grabbed a bottle of Evian and handed it to her, "there you go, mate."

She smiled. He smiled and the phone rang.

"Yo, Rollie," said the jubilant voice of Mira over the speaker phone.

"Yeah Rocky," he replied, making a face as Angie voiced her presence;

"Hi Mira!"

"Angie! Great to hear you. You up and around?" Mira asked, excitedly.

"Yep, be good as new before you know it."

"Well, I just called to say that …" and she paused, somewhat stuttering.

"Oh, it’s okay Mira. I know that you are still looking for Czewt. And I am helping Rollie with the mask still. Should be ready in about an hour," Angie told her.

She heard a sigh of relief over the phone as Rollie grinned at her.

"Great! What can I say? Francis is out there now…getting any leads he can."

"What about Baiel? How is he?" Angie asked, her concern now serious.

"He made it out of surgery. Not sure what’s up now with him," Mira replied.

"I was thinking that he might be the best guy to ask about Czewt’s whereabouts," Angie told her.

"Why’s that?"

"Because I think he has some psychic pipeline to Czewt. Ask Michael!"

"Oh right, sometime in the next century, when he returns to the scene," Mira said, scoffing at the thought.

"Trust me, Mira. Baiel may be you best lead," Angie told her firmly.

"I’d listen to the woman," Rollie told Mira as well, "She has a sixth sense, you know."

"Yeah, yeah, well- gotta go. Angie, take care and Rollie, get me that mask as soon as possible, okay?"

"Right-o, Mistress Sanchez," he said, saluting the thin air.

"Hey, I saw that," Mira replied, as Rollie looked up shocked.

************************************************************