Chapter 7

it was absolutely freezing; Misty had been trembling all over ever since she had left Mount Coronet. even that last brush with team Rocket on the road had been unable to cure the growing chill in her bones, the bitter cold striking in instantly.

it was a day into her journey along route 216 that she began to realise just how foolish she had been to leave unprepared. she was knee deep in snow, and the one pair of jeans she had were already soaked through, but she didn’t really have anything else to wear; being that the rest all ended at knee length or above. sleep had been completely impossible, not having a tent or a mat or even a sleeping bag with her; Misty had been traipsing through the deep snow without resting for nearly two days and she was so tired, oh so tired…

“I would walk five hundred miles and I would walk five hundred more, just to be the girl who walked one thousand miles to fall down at your door”
Misty had been singing that song for some time now as the sun dropped below the horizon and the cold night set in. it seemed to give her hope somehow, just enough inspiration to keep travelling, to keep walking and not give up.
“fall down and die of hypothermia more like” of course, this last thought had somewhat defeated the purpose of the motivational song, but she carried on nevertheless, just looking for enough inspiration to keep her going…

the night dragged on and the temperature dropped yet further. to make things worse; it had begun snowing hard and a fierce wind was blowing the chill down from the north. all in all it was a very unpleasant experience and, though Misty was of course not aware of it herself, there was only so much further she would be able to push herself.

at long last the effects of the extreme cold were getting to her; she was becoming a little delirious and hypothermia was finally beginning to drive her down.
she felt light headed, the cold seemed to drift away on the wind, walking was easy…yet hard at the same time
she was tired now, so tired and she just wanted to put her head down and sleep, sleep and never wake up…that pillow over there looked comfy, but then…

an orange flicker of light in the sky brought her back to her senses, if only temporarily, and as she looked closely she could just about see, floating towards her in the distance, the Meowth-head balloon of Team Rocket…


Jessie, James and Meowth had set off from the Pokemon centre in Snowpoint earlier that night, but they weren’t alone on board the balloon.
in fact it had been under fervent requests from Ash that they had eventually set off, for the last weather report had indicated that there was a storm coming. Ash couldn’t wait, he couldn’t sit still, he couldn’t just sit there and hope she made it. Tracy had made it quite clear in his letter just how little preparations Misty had made, and thus he could not justify letting her undertake this most difficult stage of the journey alone. he, Dawn, Brock and Pikachu had just managed to make it all together, and that was without a storm and after considerable preparations had been made for the journey. waiting for Misty to do it alone and in her state was like giving up on her and leaving her to die out alone in the cold, and it was an image that Ash could not abide to see any longer.
therefore, despite the dangers of going out in the storm, he had managed to convince Jessie, James and Meowth to take him out in their balloon over the snow fields of route 217, keeping a look out for the lone figure as she fought her way through the storm. Dawn and Brock had stayed behind in Snowpoint, both to keep the balloon as light as possible but also to prepare for them should they find Misty in a bad way.

“can you see anyone?!” James called over the storm

“no!” Jessie called back

“Meowth what about you?”

“I’m jus seein white here”

“hey…hey look there she is!” Ash yelled in excitement. he had just managed to spot the lone figure as she made her way slowly through the snow. she seemed to have seen them, as she stopped and looked up, but Ash looked on in dismay then as she swayed and then fell, dropping into the snow and not moving.

“come on cant this thing move any faster?!” Ash asked in despair, pounding his fist on the side of the basket in the hopes that the balloon would move more quickly

“we’re going as fast as we can!” Jessie called back, pulling hard on the burner.

“…it’s not fast enough! I’m off, come on Pikachu! you three get ready to pick us up!” with a deep breath Ash built up all of his considerable courage, stepped up onto the rim of the basket and then off, falling towards the ground.

he met the snow sooner than he had expected, and it had hurt more than he had expected too, despite the thick snow on the ground. he lay where he was for a few seconds, dazed, until Pikachu administered him a quick shock which got him back on his feet in an instant.
he looked around wildly, but then realised with despair that what he had been able to see from high up in the sky was no longer visible from ground level. everything was white, he could see no sign of Misty anywhere, but he knew that he had to find her soon or it would be too late.

“Misty?! Misty?!” he yelled into the night, but met no reply. a shout from above him caught his attention though and he saw Jessie leaning over the basket, pointing frantically.
Ash set off in that direction as fast as he could go; the wind and the snow battering him but he pushed on nevertheless, he knew he had to. above him the balloon was making steady progress too, not as fast but it wasn’t much slower and, should he reach Misty, the balloon would not be more than a minute or so behind.
it was hard though, very hard both to move and to see and he had no idea where Misty was as she lay in the snow

“Misty!!! Misty!!!”…


Misty awoke to find herself laying in a beautiful meadow; green grass spread out as far as the eye could see. the skies were blue and cloudless, and a shimmering stream ran alongside her as she lay with her back against a tree, basking in the warmth of the sun.
it was a strange place this; bits of it seemed unclear somehow, shimmering in and out of existence and every now and then there would be a strong gust of unimaginably cold wind, enough to make Misty curl herself up in a ball until they had passed.
it was in the intervals between these moments though that Misty looked around her and tried to remember what she had been doing, and how she had got here. everything seemed distant now though, nothing certain and she couldn’t for the life of her remember how she had ended up in this place.

“hello?” she called out, or tried to call, but her voice seemed to have no substance here and no words came out.

there was a reply though, but Misty could not be sure she had heard anything at all to be honest; it was so quiet and seemed to waver in and out of existence.
if she had heard it right though, then she knew that voice, and that voice seemed to know her; calling her name…

“Misty?! Misty!!!” there it was again, louder this time, and…oh Misty knew that voice so well, it had been the voice she longed to hear, the voice she had missed for so long, the owner of which she had set out to find…

Misty snapped awake, and immediately the cold leapt to meet her again. she was frozen stiff, aching all over and little icicles hung from her eyelids, obscuring her vision. she brushed them away painfully and stood slowly up, every part of her aching from the cold. no sooner had she found her feet then she stumbled again, dizzy and trembling all over. she got to her feet though, determined, she had to carry on going she knew that much, and that light in the sky seemed to be drawing closer…

“Misty?! Misty?!” there was the voice again, definitely there and close too, and then Misty realised that it must mean that Ash was somewhere there, somewhere near, looking for her.

“A-Ash? Ash?!?!” she called back, stumbling forwards towards the source of the voice with one thought remaining in her head – find Ash. with Ash she would be ok, with Ash she would have accomplished what she first set out to do, and with Ash she would be safe

“Misty?!”

“Ash?!!!”
they met suddenly, a blur of snow and then he was there, she was there, they were together at last.

“Misty!” Ash cried out in surprise and delight as the form of his friend emerged from out of the field of white. she stumbled towards him and he ran forwards, reaching out both arms to her…
Misty collapsed into his arms and he knelt down with her, cradling her head as she looked up at him with a mixture of fondness and intense relief evident on the features of them both

“Ash…” Misty breathed.
this was like a dream, and even as she lay there in his arms, she was sinking further and further into dream world herself. the scenery around them became blurred and unclear, but one thing remained constant, remained clear, and that was the form of Ash as he looked over her, holding her close.

“you’re so cold” Ash muttered, pulling Misty closer to him and wrapping his arms around her, trying to give what little body heat he had left to her, to warm her enough and keep her with him.

“I-I m-missed you s-so m-m-much” Misty shivered, resting her head against his warm chest and closing her eyes. so far as she was concerned she was alright now, she was safe, she was in Ash’s arms and now the overwhelming urge was just to sleep, to sleep with him for the rest of her life…

“Misty come on, stay with me” Ash said, shaking her gently just until her eyes opened again. Ash looked up towards the sky, relief flooding over him as he saw the balloon directly above them, descending quickly to meet and to carry them off to safety.
Misty was shaking uncontrollably in his arms, she was so cold her lips were blue and she looked so pale, fading away into the snow even as he looked.

“come on Misty don’t you give up on me” Ash said with a grim smile, holding her a little tighter.
Misty looked up into his eyes as he looked down into hers…and then they met, they were kissing, for the first time they had managed to do something that each of them had longed to do for so long.

“w-well that made me feel b-better” Misty said quietly, but it was true too, Ash had sent warmth flooding through her with just that one moment.

“oh? that’s odd, I did it for me not you” Ash joked, but even before he had finished they had met again


Chapter 8.

the balloon was descending quickly now; Jessie, James and Meowth were all three jumping up and down to try and pound the Meowth balloon lower more quickly. the balloon was in danger of being blown off course with the increasing winds so it was important that they land as soon as possible, not least because Misty looked in a bad way.
finally and with a considerable crash the Meowth balloon set down, at which point all three of the occupants began beckoning frantically for Ash to climb aboard.

Ash didn’t actually notice at first; the kiss was too perfect, too good to break now and he needed it, she needed it, they needed the contact with each other just to be sure that it was actually happening, and not an effect of the cold. it was this final point though that finally stopped them as a gust of freezing wind blew around them yet again, and Misty began shaking even worse than before. the cold was hurting now, she felt tight at the chest, hard to breathe and that, with the exception of her tingling lips, was all she could feel now that wasn’t an ache.

“come on Misty, time to go” Ash said, getting to his feet and pulling Misty with him. no sooner were they standing though than she stumbled and would have fallen, had not Ash reacted quickly enough to catch her.

“couldn’t…couldn’t I just rest for a bit…” Misty said dreamily, swaying as Ash tried to support her

“not a chance” he replied, “if you rest here you’ll die…but if you cant walk then I’ll carry you, just don’t go and sleep on me now” Ash continued, putting an arm around Misty’s shoulder and another beneath her knees and lifting her from the floor. he was surprised at first, expecting to find her to be at least a little heavy, however she seemed so light in his arms he wondered how she ever put up such a stubborn fight whenever he had used to try to drag her somewhere.
he had to quickly snap his attention back to the task at hand though and began moving as quickly as he could back towards the grounded balloon where the three figures of Jessie, James and Meowth were still waving frantically at them, beckoning Ash to hurry up.
Ash put on an extra burst of speed but no sooner had he done so then he slipped and fell, twisting in the air to land on his back with Misty on top of him.

“y-you ok A-Ash?” Misty asked, getting groggily to her hands and knees before trying to get up herself, but she couldn’t, she was too tired and too cold.
Ash meanwhile had jumped up and picked her up again, continuing towards the balloon and ignoring the cold, the stitch in his chest and the ache he had contracted from the fall.

it seemed to take hours but in fact he had only been walking for about a minute or so through the snow, but finally the balloon was drawing near.
Pikachu was hopping, light footed, ahead of him to make sure there were no pot holes or any other dangers lying beneath the snow, and Ash continued on towards the basket.
he was about to reach it when a change in Jessie, James and Meowth’s waving patterns caught his attention.
Ash looked in the direction they were now waving and pointing in but saw nothing, however something seemed to have spooked Jessie and James and now Pikachu too was on the floor, ears standing upright and on all fours, cheeks sparking as he surveyed the area.

“what’s up Pikachu?” Ash asked, slowing a little as he became aware that something was wrong

“(there’s something near…)” Pikachu replied, “(could be an Abomasnow)”
Ash gulped. he had only faced a few Abomasnow before on his way to Snowpoint in the others but he remembered them all too clearly. they were strong fighters, and he had been caught unprepared the first time but luckily Brock had caught sight of the creature and Pikachu had dispatched it. still, they were a force to be reckoned with and very dangerous to be dealing with on your own, particularly if you happen to be carrying your injured friend…or more than just a friend, back with you.

“keep a look out” Ash said quietly, the tension building.
he made to carry on the last few yards to the basket but no sooner had he taken one step then a swirl of snow just next to him caught his attention and then the Abomasnow was there, charging them down.
Ash just about had time to get Misty out of the way, ensuring her safe landing in a soft snow drift, before the Abomasnow was on him. he threw up his arms to protect himself as the creature charged, so close as it wouldn’t miss, there was no way it could. Pikachu had been caught by surprise also, and thus hadn’t reacted fast enough to take the creature down in time and it crashed into Ash, smashing straight through him, sending him flying to land unconscious in the snow near Misty.

“take it down Pikachu!” Misty cried, the shock of the creatures sudden appearance and now her worry for Ash waking her up just enough to watch and hope, as Pikachu reacted to her command and fired a powerful thunderbolt at the Abomasnow as it charged straight towards the balloon, leaping high…

the thunderbolt struck but it was too late to save the balloon, as the creature flew straight through the fabric of the balloon and out the other side to land somewhere in the snow, invisible and unconscious.
as for the Team Rocket trio they could do nothing now, still being in the basket as the balloon whizzed off into the sky

“looks like Team Rocket’s blastin off agaaaaiiiiin” the cried before disappearing into the dark sky with the all too familiar ‘ping’

“Ash? Ash!” Misty called, crawling over to Ash though falling twice covering the few yards between them. when she reached him he was still laying as he had fallen, face pale and eyes shut.
Pikachu had been looking for the fallen Abomasnow but came back quickly to see to his two best friends

“(check his pulse?)” Pikachu offered

“don’t be stupid he isn’t dead” Misty said, trying her best to snap but failing, both too cold but now, and more so, too worried that Pikachu might be right

“(it’s good to see you by the way)” was all Pikachu said in reply, giving Misty a curious look

“It’s g-good to be back” Misty replied with as warm a smile as she could manage.
a groan from Ash snapped both Misty and Pikachu’s attention back to him however and they looked back in time to see his eyes flutter open.

“ergh what happened?” he asked, sitting up groggily

“(you were hit by that Abomasnow, pretty hard too by the looks of things)” Pikachu replied

“Pikachu managed to take him out, b-but Team R-Rocket got b-blasted again” Misty continued

“(Misty was quick enough to react and give the command, otherwise I just followed that)” Pikachu said modestly

“r-rubbish, you’d have done it yourself, I just h-happened to shout it out” Misty argued.
Ash was watching this with interest; at least once the immediate grogginess had worn off.

“I can see you two ganging up on me at some stage, what’s with the niceties?” he asked

“w-well we m-missed each other” Misty replied

“hey I thought you missed me too, and I bet I won’t get the special treatment” Ash said, putting on a hurt expression as he stood up. the hurt expression was partly to hide the real pain he was feeling in his chest from when the Abomasnow had struck, but it was important for him to be strong now and so strong he would be.

“w-well when w-we get out of this then I’ll g-g-give you so much special t-treatment you’ll wonder h-how you ever did without me” Misty replied

“already do” Ash answered as he picked Misty up again

“(looks like we’ll have to walk…I’ll keep a look out for any more Abomasnow on the way)” Pikachu said. he caught Ash’s eye as he did so and knew that they were both thinking the same thing.
it had been around an hours flying time to get to this point, and now they had no means of getting back other than walking. they were open to the elements, it was getting colder, the wind was getting stronger and the snow harder and deeper. both Ash and Pikachu knew now that the chances of them all getting back to the Pokemon centre alive were slim at best…the chances of them ‘all’ getting back, with Misty in the state she was in having been out in this far longer than the other two…

“right lets go then” Ash said, managing to sound enthusiastic as they all set off back in the direction they had come. he didn’t want to think about the prospect of not getting back. he was not so worried about himself, but if Misty weren’t to make it back then he didn’t know what he would do; he might as well already be dead. they had found each other again at last; he couldn’t lose her again now, not after all of this…

the three of them moved off into the night and the growing storm, Pikachu scouting out ahead whilst Ash carried Misty through the snow. she was weak now, worse than she had been when they had found her but Ash kept her with him, kept her awake and did his best to make her warm, sacrificing his own coat to try and insulate some heat for her though he knew it would serve little purpose other than to make him very cold; his T-shirt not anywhere near thick enough nor covering his arms and he would get very cold indeed before they got back but he didn’t care, so long as he did his best to stop Misty from suffering any more.
they walked on then; walking north at a snails pace but making progress all the same, drawing ever nearer to the town and to safety…


around three hours had passed since Ash had departed with Team Rocket to look for Misty; and as Brock and Dawn sat in the Pokemon centre waiting with the wind howling outside, their anxiety grew.

“they should be back by now” Dawn said again, about the fifth time in as many minutes.

“I know…I know” Brock replied. he had given up on trying to be encouraging; he had none of it left himself.

“think I’ll go check on the bath” Dawn said absentmindedly, getting up and making for the door at the back of the waiting room

“no need, Joy’s already seeing to it” Brock said. he was so worried about his friends that he had even stopped madly flirting with the Nurse, which was a good thing; otherwise they would probably have been thrown out

“well I have to do something!” Dawn wailed, “I’m just sitting here doing nothing while Ash and the others are out in this weather! anything could have happened, they could be injured, they could even be dead and we wouldn’t know because we didn’t fight Ash’s stubbornness hard enough for him to let us go…” Dawn stopped as the tears streamed from her eyes. Brock got up to try and comfort her but it was hard, not feeling very assured himself

“don’t worry they’ll be ok” he said, “come on, lets go see to that bath…though I’m sue it’s probably as hot as it’s safe to put it” he said, and began to lead Dawn back towards the back of the room again.
they had hardly taken three steps however before a noise from behind caught their attention. the noise of the wind suddenly swelled to a roar and a bitter wind struck in, accompanying a clicking noise…almost as though the front door had opened…

“guess…guess who’s back” came a hoarse voice

Dawn and Brock wheeled around and saw, to their intense relief, an exhausted looking Ash just about managing to stand in the doorway. there was a tired looking Pikachu on the floor by his feet too and in Ash’s arms, looking perhaps the worst of the three of them, Misty lay. she might have been asleep; her eyes were shut and her breathing was slow, or at least until Ash shook her lightly and she just about managed to open her eyes.

“Ash! Misty! Pikachu!” Brock exclaimed, rushing forwards to see to them closely followed by Dawn. they were pulled short however as Nurse Joy appeared in between them and their intended targets, looking at Ash and Misty in concern

“get them to that bath straight away” she said quickly before taking Pikachu up and putting him on the counter

“right” Brock and Dawn replied before moving forwards to help their two friends across the waiting room

“bath…never sounded so sweet before” Misty said weakly as they moved off. she was still trembling all over, just as cold as she had been outside and if she wasn’t warmed up soon then she could be in even more trouble than she was already.

“oh you bet” Ash said, the relief evident on his face at the prospect of a final end to the strains the day had brought. he would like nothing more than a hot bath at that moment, to get off of his feet and to warm up. there was just one thing he would like more at that moment, and that would be to settle down in a warm bed and sleep…not alone though of course. the girl in his arms; they had not had time to catch up at all, as this had hardly been the dream reunion they had both imagined at some time or another…

Ash, with Misty in his arms, allowed himself to be led through the door at the back of the centre, the one that led to the rooms he, Brock and Dawn had stayed in. this time however they did not turn off into any of the rooms, instead continuing down to the bottom of the corridor and through a door saying private. this was the Nurse’s own living quarters, however there was no bath in the public area of the centre and so the nurse had, given the situation, kindly offered her own.

Brock and Dawn opened the door for them and both Ash and Misty were treated to a sight that they had both, secretly, not expected to see again.
the room was slightly steamy given the hot water in the tub and it was warm, so warm. bubbles were frothing up and over the side of the tub and there were a couple of candles up by the head.

“my idea” Dawn admitted, blushing

“perfect” Ash replied with a warm smile, “but there’s only one tub”

Brock and Dawn sweat-dropped however for once Misty did not join in. she hadn’t caught on truth be told and even if she had she wouldn’t have done as she was actually curious about the same thing, though even in her exhausted state she had begun to draw a conclusion…

“well yea there is” Brock replied, giving Ash a meaningful look which he hoped might make things clear. it didn’t.

“oh well, Misty had better have it, I’m…I’m not that cold really” Ash said, managing to hide the disappointment quite well he thought.

“no” Dawn objected, “no Nurse Joy said you were both to warm up”

“but if there’s only one tub…” Ash began but Misty interrupted him

“errm Ash…Ash I think they mean…” she said, but a yawn stopped her and the other two took the opportunity to vacate the scene

“well we’ll leave you to it” Brock said, making for the door

“but…” Ash tried.
Dawn had finally had enough of Ash’s thick-headedness and decided to answer Ash’s plea simply for him

“Ash for goodness sake! look now I don’t care if this embarrasses you but I’m going to come straight out and say this” she said, taking a deep breath so as to get this over with as quickly as possible. “right look. you like Misty, you admitted it. Misty, hi by the way, I’m Dawn, pleased to meet you and I hope we’ll become good friends. anyways Misty I’m pretty sure you like Ash too so…two of you…one tub…work it out”
Dawn left quickly before Ash could ask the many questions that had arisen. he had been prevented from doing so at first however by his blushing, for he was now bright red. looking down quickly he caught Misty’s eye. she was blushing deeply too, and as their eyes met they both looked away quickly. Ash had not put Misty down yet and, standing still as they were in their damp clothes, it was becoming uncomfortable. still though they didn’t move, as this was a bizarre moment for each of them. sure they had already kissed, it was pretty much established that they were on the same wavelength and after all, it wasn’t as though they had never pictured this scenario before, never fantasized…

“errm well…” Ash began, looking all around the room to try and find something interesting to stare at.

“right…” Misty replied, doing the same but a yawn and then a fresh surge of trembling caught Ash’s attention, followed by a sniff and a cough.

“listen Misty…you have the tub, I’ll leave if you want I really don’t mind…” he said gently, moving to lower Misty towards the lid of the toilet on which she could sit and change. she didn’t let go of him though as he made to set her down, staying in his arms

“Ash you’re wet and you’re freezing” she said. it was true, Ash had suffered a lot in the cold, particularly after he had given her his coat and his arms looked as though they might never be rid of the goose pimples but he was doing his best not to show it

“you’re worse” he muttered in reply

“I feel rubbish yea but I know you Ash, for all I’ve been gone for ages and I know when you’re feeling bad too and…” Misty stopped, blushing and absentmindedly covered her mouth with a hand

“and what?” Ash asked gently

“and…and to be honest I wouldn’t mind…”

“well…neither would I…”

Ash sat Misty down on the toilet seat and tugged on her sodden trainers to help her get started. she was still numb all over and it would have been difficult for her to do it herself in any case.
with relief he began to pull off the rest of his sodden clothes, just enough to get rid of the wettest, which was pretty much everything anyway…not completely, he was still a little…uncomfortable with the situation and, by the look on her face, Misty was too.

“err Ash can I…let’s not tell anyone else about this right?” Misty asked nervously

“err no lets not” Ash replied quickly, “I mean…well…can I be straight for you for a sec?”

“sure” Misty replied, shuffling over to give Ash room to sit down too. she was trying her hardest not to stare, not to look him all over but it was hard. she had not started getting changed herself but Ash had pretty much finished, and it was the first time Misty had really looked at him this way, from the attraction point of view.
Ash sat down next to her, close, the toilet lid was not the largest seat in the world after all, and looked her in the eye.

“Misty you know for a long time I’ve been feeling…this thing…for you...I’m not sure how to explain it really” he began, searching for the words that would not come

“I know what you mean” Misty replied.
they were both looking at their feet not, blushing again and wondering how best to explain it.

“that kiss out there in the snow” Ash began again, hoping that he had now found a way to explain “you know that wasn’t just…well it wasn’t just to try and get you warm or moving or anything…I really meant it”

“and so did I” Misty replied quietly

“then you…?”

“I do…”

“I love you” they both said together, and then they were in each others arms again, at least for a moment, before Misty’s freezing clothes effected both of them pressing against her already cold skin, and pressing on Ash’s too as he had just begun to feel a little warmer.

“ergh I’ve been looking forward to getting out of these for ages” Misty said grimly, trying to stand up but failing yet again. she was colder than she had realised truth be told, for she was numb all over and thus could not feel a thing. she did feel something though, inside, the pounding of her heart and then, when Ash closed the last few centimetres between then again and their lips met, she felt a warmth flood through her.
as they kissed Ash helped her move her hands down, and one by one the wet clothes came off until Misty was in the same state as Ash; dignity maintained still as neither of them had become used to this kind of thing, especially given their short time back together. in fact they both thought this was going a bit fast yet somehow something said that it was right, that it wouldn’t matter…they were in love after all…

“finish the job?” Ash asked quietly, their lips parting for the first time since they had met again.

“well…yea I guess” Misty replied, and so they did.

less than a minute later and Ash had eased them both into the bath; the deep, warm water rising to meet them both as they lay together. such a sigh of relief they had both breathed as the felt the warmth flood over them again, the soothing and relaxing water washing away all aches and pains, the trauma of what had happened earlier. for Misty in particular who had not slept in over two days, this sudden relaxation was an immense relief and almost instantly her eyes were closing as she rested her head on Ash’s chest in the water, and felt his gentle hands caress her skin.
her last actions before settling down were to turn around, the smooth and slight movement having little impact on the waters surface, until she was facing Ash; face to face, chest to chest…
“I love you” she whispered, giving Ash a quick and gentle kiss on the lips, before sliding down to rest her head on his chest again. almost at once her eyes shut as; at long last, she could give into the urge, and drift off in the sweet, warm embrace of the one she loved.

The End.