Chapter 6. Once they had settled in the jeep, Lex handed her brown duster to the now trembling woman

Once they had settled in the jeep, Lex handed her brown duster to the now trembling woman. " Here. This should help ward off the chill 'til we get back to the house."

Amanda took the coat shyly. " Thanks. But what about you? " she asked, as she snuggled under the too-big coat, sighing in relief. " Aaah… much better."

" Don't worry about me, " Lex stated, impatiently wiping the wet hair out of her eyes again. " It's not that far." She buried her hand in one of the pockets of the coat. Removing her hand, Lex pulled out a dark blue bandanna. " Here, " she said, gently applying pressure with the bandanna to the still bleeding gash on the girls' temple, " I promise it's clean."

Amanda smiled, moving her left hand to replace the one the beautiful stranger- Whoa! Where did that come from? had pressed against the wound. " Uhmm… okay." Then she smiled a little bigger. " Well, anyway…Thank you for saving my life." Tears welled up in her deep green eyes. " I don't…" she stammered with a frown, " I just…" she took a deep breath, " I'm sorry. Reaction, I guess." Another deep breath. " I don't even know your name." Her smile returned. " My name's Amanda."

The dark woman pinned her with a direct gaze. " Lex… and you're welcome, " she finished, with a smile of her own. Lex turned the key in the ignition, and the jeep thankfully sputtered to life. The continuing rain pounded a loud beat upon the hard top of the jeep, which combined, with the grumbling of the engine, made normal conversation difficult, at best. Reaching for the gearshift caused a sharp stabbing pain to the older woman's chest, and Lex hastily bit off a groan.

This action did not go unnoticed by the smaller woman in the jeep. " What is it? What's the matter? " she used her right hand to hold the bloody bandanna in place, and placed her left hand gently on Lex's wrist, concern etching her lovely features. Amanda temporarily forgot her headache, as she studied the quiet form across from her.

" Nothing…just a little sore." Lex answered, throwing the jeep into gear and started towards what was left of the road.

Amanda turned slightly in her seat, so she could gaze fully at the quiet woman beside her. " Uh-huh… if you say so."

Lex gave her a raised eyebrow in response. Trying to get the subject away from herself, the older woman posed the question that had been bothering her since she'd first spotted Amanda's car. " So…what in the hell were you doing driving around deserted country roads on a nasty day like this? " she grimaced as the jeep hit a particularly deep rut in the road. " And why were you driving across my bridge? " she finished, straining to see the road through the windshield.

" YOUR BRIDGE???? " Amanda squeaked, incredulous. Then, she began to giggle.

" Whaat? " Lex asked, drawing out the word.

Amanda giggled harder. " Sorry…but I just got this picture in my head." She continued her mirth at the other woman's expense.

Lex just glowered at her. " C'mon, let's hear it."

" No, really, it's not important."

Another glare from the driver of the jeep.

" Okay." The younger woman wiped errant tears from her eyes. " I just had this mental picture of you as a troll, waiting for the Three Billy Goats Gruff, " she wheezed, trying unsuccessfully to contain her glee.

The dark haired woman couldn't help it. She smiled. " Cute, real cute." But part of her was relieved. The head injury couldn't be too bad if the girl was making jokes. Maybe everything would be all right, after all.