Brian cursed under his breath. Justin could feel the tension inside the Jeep, thick as the river of rain that poured mercilessly all around them. It made it almost impossible to see more than a foot in front of them. The situation had gone from bad to worse since leaving the park grounds and the entire caravan was delayed by the dangerous storms and heavy traffic. No one dared to move at more than a snail's pace for fear of running off the road, or even worse...into the vehicle in front of them. If they hadn't been afraid of being caught in the hurricane winds that were rapidly approaching, the troupe would have pulled off the side of the road and waited the whole thing out. The fear was that the winds would be strong enough to lift even the heaviest vehicles up and toss them around like so many matchsticks. The animals, equipment, and people could be seriously injured or even killed. They had to remain on the road and pray for a break.

Brian and Justin had been on the road for nearly an hour and only advanced ten miles at most. It was then that Brian's foot began to feel sponginess in his brake pedal as he stepped on it for the hundredth time since pulling out. It didn't panic him at first. He figured it was partly his imagination due to the stress. They had moved forward another quarter mile when Brian saw he was too close to the car in front of him. He tapped his brakes again. There it was...that same sponginess. Now he knew it wasn't his imagination. Something was wrong with his brakes. Brian grabbed his CB radio and clicked the button on.

"Breaker, breaker...this is Top Flyer, calling Mama Bear. Come in Mama Bear. Over."

After a moment of static chatter, the couple could hear the familiar voice of Debbie calling back.

"Mama Bear here. What's up, Top Flyer? Over."

"I've got a problem here. Something is wrong with my braking system. They feel like they're about to give out. I need to pull out and check them. How far away are you? Over."

"We're about twenty minutes behind you, Top Flyer. Go ahead and pull over and we'll be on the lookout for you. Over."

"Will do, Mama Bear. Over and out."

As soon as Debbie clicked her CB off she felt a chill. Brian was always super careful with his Jeep. It was his pride and joy and he took excellent care of it. Strange that it would have such a major failure on the very day that Kip was caught lurking about. Debbie thought about calling Brian back to let him know about Kip and that the fool was safely under their control now but she didn't want to distract him. Besides, that knowledge wasn't going to do Brian and Justin any good at this moment. She would tell him once they caught up with the Jeep. She stared out the front window at the gray sheets of rain slicing down at them and cursed the weather.

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

"What's wrong, Brian?" Justin asked anxiously. He had heard what Brian said about the braking system but was completely unaware that there had been a problem.

"I'm not sure, Sunshine. But every time I step on the brakes, they feel even looser than before. There's definitely something not right. I don't want to take a chance on needing them and having them give out entirely."

Justin nodded his agreement and waited for Brian to pull over to the side of the road. Brian could barely see in front of him, but there had been a slight break in the intensity of the downpour and he was hoping for one of those so he could safely maneuver the Jeep to the gravel on the side of the highway. Every muscle in his body was tensed, waiting for that break. They were barely driving under ten miles an hour and had only gotten a few yards further on when Brian saw a lessening of the dense rain through his windshield. He could just make out the vehicle in front of him, much closer than he had thought it was. Now was the time to pull over and park the car on the shoulder of the four-lane highway. 

Brian tapped gently on his brakes as he began swerving to the right. He felt alarm when they went down almost to the floor board before barely catching hold, but this wasn't the time to panic. Before he could move more than a couple of feet further the sheet of rain suddenly thickened again, obscuring his vision once more. He already knew there were no vehicles on the side of the road thanks to the brief glance he had gotten before turning out of traffic, so he decided to use his best judgement and continue to move over. What he didn't know, and couldn't see was that the vehicle in front of him had used their brakes for whatever reason and was now directly in front of him. Brian's front fender collided with the back fender of the vehicle he had been following.

The collision caught Brian off-guard, even though it was low-impact and normally would have done minimal damage. The impact was just enough to wrench control of the wheel from Brian's grasp. The rain-slick road was dangerous enough, but the front passenger tire hit the gravel at just that instant. The combination was too much for the large Jeep. It began to slowly turn like a ballerina in pirouette. Once the other tires were caught up in the gravel too, the Jeep began to twirl around even faster. Brian had not been able to see that the road dipped down dramatically from the other side of the gravel. With no warning, the circular path the Jeep was taking suddenly became a flip-over...end over end as the vehicle went deeper and deeper into the ravine along the highway. 

Brian had struggled mightily to control the Jeep when it first started twirling like a mad merry-go-round, but when it started to flip over he knew he had lost the battle. His first instinct was to grab hold of Justin and pull him as close to his body as possible to soften any blows the young man would suffer from the turmoil inside the vehicle. The two men tried to hold tight to each other but gravity had its way and they were torn apart. Justin went flying into the back seat and against the sides over and over. Brian's body suffered the same, but in the front of the vehicle. Somewhere during the fourth or fifth turn, Justin was knocked unconscious. Finally, dozens of feet below street level, the vehicle came to rest upside down with its wheels spinning as if they were in a race. The top of the Jeep was crushed. Only the sound of the steadily-pouring rain could be heard. The rest was total quiet.

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

Debbie continued to stare out the side of her window. It had been just over twenty minutes since she had spoken to Brian and she was convinced she should have seen his Jeep by now. The rain had let up in the last ten minutes, but only enough to improve visibility a little. She was about to use her CB to call Brian for the second time and find out if everything was alright when she saw a familiar car off to the side of the road. It belonged to one of her employees and their family. Instinct told her she should stop, so she ordered Michael to pull the van over. The car with Kip in it kept moving. No one inside the vehicle noticed the slowly-spreading smirk planted on their 'prisoner's' face as they passed by the scene. Debbie's van pulled up directly behind the other car. She grabbed her umbrella and quickly joined her employee's wife and his two youngest sons who were standing on the shoulder of the road, staring down into the ravine below them. As she approached, she could see the worry on their faces.

"What's going on, Milly?" she questioned.

"We're not sure yet," Milly responded. Tony and the boys went down to find out what is happening. We were forced to hit our brakes when we had a break in the rain and saw we were too close to the truck in front of us and the next thing we know, we're being hit from behind. We weren't hit that hard, but when Tony tried to see what happened to the other car, all he could see was something moving off to the side of the road. Then the rain got too thick to see anymore. Tony had to stop to see if he could help, but by the time we got out and checked, the other car had disappeared from sight. There's a deep ravine on the side of the road so we figure it ended up down there. The boys have gone down to see if they can help whoever was in that car."

"Could you tell who it was?" Debbie asked anxiously, a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Milly shook her head. "It happened so fast and the rain made it impossible to see details. I'm not sure who pulled out right after us either."

Debbie's blood ran cold. She had a strong feeling as to who it might have been. She was joined by Michael and Ben. She quickly asked them to go down and see if they could help Tony. Without a word, the two men began to carefully pick their way down the steep embankment. They hadn't gone far when they saw the wrecked vehicle. It was barely recognizable, but Michael knew it was Brian's Jeep. Michael could feel his heart skip a beat. He slid down the soaked grass faster, desperate to make sure his best friend was okay. Ben was right behind him. In seconds all five men were circled around the fallen Jeep...Michael, Ben, Tony, and his two eldest sons. Tony and his boys had been trying to reach and extract an unconscious Justin from the wreckage with no success. Brian was nowhere in sight.

"Where's Brian?" Michael yelled above the sound of the lessening rain.

Tony stopped what he was doing long enough to shrug his shoulders. "We haven't seen him. He must have been thrown out. Justin is wedged into the back seat. Maybe we'd have better luck if we could flip this thing over."

Ben instantly volunteered to help while Michael began checking all around the crash site. With every second that he couldn't find Brian, his fears grew. There was a cluster of bushes a number of yards to the left so Michael headed for them. He had gotten within feet of the thick bushes when he heard a deep moan. He hurried towards the sound. Suddenly he saw the splayed-out form of his dearest friend lying on the ground, just in front of the bushes. Michael ran towards Brian and fell to one knee. He carefully lifted Brian's head. Brian let out a groan as his head came up. There was a gash over his eye that ran up into his hairline. It seeped blood down his face which was quickly washed away by the rain. Red stains could be seen on Brian's shirt, but it was impossible to tell how bad it was thanks to all the rainwater. Brian was beginning to come to. He grabbed onto Michael's arm.

"Justin! Where's Justin?" he croaked out. 

Michael pried Brian's hand free and laid his head back down gently. 

"Relax, Brian. I'm sure he'll be fine. The others are helping him. We couldn't find you at first. Thank God you're alive. Where do you hurt?"

"I'm fine," Brian told his friend, shakily. "I need to take care of Justin."

Brian tried to rise, but was hit with a sharp pain in his back. He let out a deep groan. 

Stop it," Michael ordered. "You don't know what is hurt yet. If you move, you could do permanent damage to something. I don't want to leave you but I've got to get help. Ma's up at the top just waiting to know what is going on. She'll call for help. Now don't move. I mean it. Justin will be fine, I'm sure. You know he wouldn't want you to risk serious damage. Promise you'll stay still?"

Brian nodded reluctantly. Michael hurried back to the Jeep. By the time he got there, the men had flipped it over and had carefully moved the unconscious Justin to the grass. A cursory look had shown no open wounds or blood, and the young man was definitely breathing. Michael told them to wait with Justin and asked Ben to go to Brian and keep an eye on him while he hurriedly returned to Debbie. The walk back up was slippery, but Michael made good time. As soon as he reached a fearful Debbie, he told her what they had found. Debbie forced herself to remain calm as she rushed back to her van and placed an emergency call over the CB. All they could do now was wait. Debbie left Milly to watch for the ambulance and highway patrol while she followed Michael back down the slope to where her two favorite boys were. 

Time dragged by painfully as they waited for help to arrive. The weather and traffic made it a slow endeavor. At least twenty more minutes dragged by. The rain seemed to be slacking off, as if Mother Nature was taking mercy on the soaked victims below. Finally, the sound of sirens could be heard in the distance. Soon the hillside was swarming with rescue workers, wrecker employees, and patrolmen. EMT's went right to work on the still unconscious blond while others checked out Brian. As soon as they had a neck brace in place and had checked his vitals they strapped him onto a gurney that would be used to lift him back up the ravine. As they passed by the Jeep, Brian could see they were still working on Justin. His heart sank. Why was he still unconscious? Brian couldn't feel relief that they had been rescued...not until he knew that Justin was going to be alright.

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

Brian opened his eyes reluctantly. His head still hurt like a motherfucker, but doctor's news just before giving him that delightful pain shot that knocked him out for the third or fourth time since arriving at the hospital had all been good...at least for him. He looked over at the other bed in the room. He could see Justin laying there, so peacefully still. Brian had asked that they give them both the same room. Actually, he had demanded it...refusing to co-operate with doctors or nurses until they agreed. Justin had slipped into a coma, but the doctors found little else wrong with him. He had bruises over a large part of his body, but no broken bones. He had a concussion, which explained the coma, but thankfully there had been no swelling of the brain. As the doctor said, it was now simply a waiting game. Despite the reassurances, Brian longed to see those beautiful blue peepers gazing at him. It couldn't happen soon enough. It was already the second day since the accident.

Brian was about to ring for the nurse when he heard the hospital door swinging open. Debbie entered with an arm full of flowers and balloons. She had a huge smile on her face, but it slipped slightly when she noticed that Justin's eyes were still closed. She hurried over to Brian's bed and greeted him with a peck on his bandaged head. 

"He still hasn't opened those beautiful eyes?" she asked anxiously, setting her armload of greetings down. 

Brian shook his head. Debbie could see how unhappy Brian was. 

"I talked to your doctor. Told him I was your Mom. He said that you'll be sore for a couple of weeks, but that you were lucky to have been thrown out into the soft grass. It may have saved you from more serious injuries. I explained what you do for a living and he tells me that he doesn't see any reason why you can't fly again with the proper care and a few weeks off. Oh Gawd, Brian," she paused, shuddering. "It could have been so much worse. If the weather had been better, you could have been driving a lot faster when your brakes acted up."

"I told you, Deb. It wasn't my brakes that caused the accident. I didn't see the car in front of me stopping so I hit it. That's what caused me to lose control."

Debbie frowned. She hadn't told Brian the whole story yet. She didn't want him to be distracted from healing and she suspected he would have tried to leave the hospital and get at Kip if he knew what she had suspected and the cops had just confirmed for her this morning. Debbie had talked to the cops and told them all about Kip, and what Brian had said about his brakes just before the accident. They took him into custody, pending an investigation and discovered the slit brake line almost immediately. After finding Kip's knife on him, which he had never gotten the chance to dispose of before Debbie's men tied him up, they charged him with attempted murder. Traces of brake fluid were still on the handle and blade of the knife. It looked like Kip wouldn't be going back to Florida any time soon. 

"Brian, Honey, I have something to tell you but I don't want you to overreact."

Brian looked at Debbie quizzically. He waited while she chose her words carefully. 

"Deb?" he almost shouted, losing patience. "Will you just spit it out? What is bothering you so bad that you're afraid to tell me?"

"It's about the 'accident'. The truth is....well dammit Brian, it wasn't your fault at all. And it wasn't an accident either. Your brake lines had been cut. Someone wanted you to lose control of the Jeep and crash."

Brian's eyes became narrow slits. Debbie could see rage starting to build behind those hazel eyes. It was enough to make a weaker person run and hide. Debbie stood her ground and prepared herself for Brian's response.

"What the fuck are you talking about? Are you talking sabotage? Who the hell...." Brian's loud voice trailed off. A thought occurred to him. "Do they know who is responsible? It wasn't that piece of shit that's been stalking Justin, was it? If it is, and he hurt Justin, he won't have to worry about going to jail. He'll be buried under it when I'm done with him!"

Debbie quickly laid a calming hand on Brian's chest. It didn't work. She could see that Brian was still out for blood. 

"No, it wasn't that guy. The bastard doesn't even know Justin. You were the target, Brian."

"What are you talking about? Just tell me who it is."

"Kip. It was Kip, your old flying partner. Apparently he's been holding a grudge all this time for you getting him fired. He claims you ruined his life and blackballed him so he couldn't find another job with anyone else. He's already under arrest. It's a long story and I won't bore you with the whole thing right now. Just know that he won't be causing any more trouble for quite a while. Right now your only job is to get well and wait for our Sunshine to do the same."

Brian was about to respond to Debbie's revelations when he heard a soft moan nearby. He turned his head and saw movement from the other bed. Debbie saw it at the same time. She quickly rushed around Brian's bed and moved to the side where Justin had been laying as still as a statue, only now there was slight movement happening. Before she could say a thing, Brian was right beside her. She moved back, giving Brian room. He leaned in close and watched as Justin's eyes began fluttering. His hand began moving at the same time. Brian grabbed Justin's hand and held it tight, bringing it up to his lips. He kissed the pale fingertips, and then placed a soft kiss on Justin's forehead. As he pulled away, he saw that Justin's eyes were fully open.

Brian had never felt anything so warm and wonderful. Justin's sky-blue eyes were clear, even if a little unfocused. Brian continued staring into them, having no desire to lose contact even for a second. He held on to Justin's hand and watched as the young man slowly regained his senses. Justin felt safe as long as he was staring into Brian's beautiful face. Finally, Justin was awake enough to speak.

"Brian?" he whispered, his voice catching.

"I'm right here, Sunshine. You're going to be fine. The docs promised me. All we needed was for you to wake up."

"Wake up? How long have I been out?" Justin whispered again.

"A couple of days, but all your pieces are still together and in good shape. Your brain needed a chance to heal, so it decided to take a long nap, that's all. Have to admit you gave me a scare, but....oh shit, Justin, I've never been so scared. I don't know what I would have done if you had taken much longer to open those gorgeous blue eyes of yours!"

Justin reached up and caressed Brian's cheek. He felt the stubble there and then it dawned on him that Brian was wearing a hospital gown too.

"Are you alright, Brian?" he asked, pointing to Brian's garb.

"Don't you worry about me. All my pieces are in good working order too. I wouldn't let them kick me out until I knew you were going to be fine, that's all."

Brian bent down and placed his lips softly, tenderly on Justin's. He kissed his lover slowly, gently. Debbie watched from the corner. There was a lot to tell the young man and more for Brian to hear, but now wasn't the time. It could wait. Brian and Justin needed a few minutes alone. She would find their doctor and report Justin's happy re-emergence into the world. Then she would let the rest of her circus 'family' know the good news. 

Brian and Justin didn't even notice when Debbie stepped out the door, closing it quietly behind her. They couldn't stop kissing and staring into each other's eyes. That was all that mattered at this very moment. They were both alive, still in one piece, and best of all...together.

To be continued........................