Kate sat in the back of the cab, staring down at the knapsack in her lap. It had been a good five minutes since she had seen any movement of the canvas. She never heard any tiny cries for help or for release. This worried her. Was he okay? 

She carefully opened the zipper just enough to peek inside. The light wasn't particularly good, but she spied him laying on the floor of the makeshift prison, the sleeve of one of her sweatshirts wrapped around his tiny body. He was sound asleep, laying in a slight fetal position. 

She opened the zipper more to get a better look. She gently took another fold of the sweatshirt and covered his legs up. He was so small, so cute, so helpless. For some reason that thrilled her, but she didn't know exactly why. 

She also didn't know why she had impulsively snatched him up like she did. Surely this would be the end of their relationship. Maybe she could convince him that this was the kind of adventure their relationship needed? 

He was always so self-assured. So right about everything. He never needed anyone to take care of him. As they had talked about possibly getting married, this was one area that concerned her greatly. The one area of doubt that she couldn't shake when contemplating a life together. She loved her strong man, but wished that he would allow her to take care of him some of the time. 

Now, he was nearly helpless as a baby. He would have to let her take care of him. Maybe this was the vacation that he REALLY needed? 

The cab hit a speed bump which caused the backpack to jump slightly in her lap, its precious cargo got a split second of air time. She thought for a moment that he was going to wake up, but he just grabbed the thick material with his tiny hands and pulled it back over his body, turning away from light, and returning to a deep sleep. 

Yes. This was the right decision. He needed this. THEY needed this. If it turned out to be the end of them as a couple, then so be it. That would have eventually been the outcome anyway. He was going to have to let her be the caretaker for a change, whether he liked it or not. 

She slowly pulled the zipper closed again, and leaned back in the back seat of the taxi and closed her eyes. 

****

Cam woke up to total darkness, groggy, and with much confusion. 

Where was he? Nothing was clear. He figured he had a slight hangover. 

He pulled himself out of the thick blankets that surrounded him-seemed to be underneath and above him as well. After untangling himself from the material, he felt around, trying to get a bearing as to his surroundings. 

To his right, he felt some silk-like material. His left hand ran along the side of a large object. At first it seemed to be made out of steel, but that was just along the edge. The to surface was very smooth plastic or vinyl, like a fast-food tabletop. 

He moved his hands further along the surface until he encountered a slight concave, round and a little larger than a steering wheel. As he put some weight on the disk, he felt it give slightly with a 'click'. Odd. 

He held his hand there, with his weight on it for a few seconds until suddenly the entire area was illuminated by a bright light. This sudden burst of light temporarily blinded him. It took a few moments for his pupils to adjust, but before he could focus, the light dissolved and faded. 

He pushed down on the wheel again in a slightly different location and loud but muffled music started to sound from all around. It sounded familiar... 

"Let me know that I've done wrong 
When I've known this all along 
I go around a time or two 
Just to waste my time with you 

Tell me all that you've thrown away 
Find out games you don't wanna play 
You are the only one that needs to know 

I'll keep you my dirty little secret 
(Dirty little secret) 
Don't tell anyone or you'll be just another regret 
(Just another regret, hope that you can keep it) 
My dirty little secret" 

He shook his head, causing it to clear a bit, and dreamlike memories started to become clear. 

"No..." 

He pushed down on the wheel in the original position for a few seconds and the blue illumination returned. A smallish computer-like screen was the source of the light. In large blocky letters "Dirty Little Secret" followed by "All-American Rejects". He knew the look of that screen well. He had just never seen it from this perspective before. 

It was his iPod. 

The light went out again, and after using his hand to manipulate the menu, he set the backlight to stay on to better see his surroundings. The room he was in looked like a small cave-the ceilings made out of some sort of thick cloth or canvas. A giant zipper pattern was to one side splitting the cloth in two. Underneath him was a red sweatshirt with giant white letters, all he could see were the letters "A", "B", "E", and "R", but he recognized it as Kate's Abercrombie hoodie. 

He had thought he dreamed being stuffed inside his own backpack, but obviously this was no dream. What was she thinking?? 

He awkwardly climbed over the cloth floor, up and over a thick volume of the latest Harry Potter (extra large type edition now, he thought to himself trying find humor in the situation before he went insane) and over to one edge of the zipper. 

He pulled on the metal device that was slightly larger than his own hands. It gave a little, but he would need more leverage to get it open. He got on his knees and stuffed one fist through the small opening he had made, and pulled his arm to the left and the metal teeth began to separate, letting light and fresh air in from the outside. It took some effort, but he managed to get both of his arms through the opening and then pushed apart the zipper, squeezing through to the other side, where he tumbled out and then over a ledge! 

Instinctively, he grabbed whatever he could before falling, wrapping his hands around a spiral vinyl cord. It gave for a foot, but then found its catch with a slight bell sound. He climbed up the lifeline, to a white surface, catching his breath after his near death experience. 

He blinked and looked around. The area he was in was enormous. Bigger than any warehouse he had ever visited. But it was very familiar looking. He got back on his feet and looked down at the wooden table beneath his feet. Behind him was the side of the backpack, about 6 times larger than he was. A coffee mug came nearly up to his waist. It had "Hilton Hotel" written on it in large stylish dark blue lettering. Many, many stories above was a white ceiling that might as well have been the sky. 

"Oh, you're awake finally!" Kate said walking into the room with one towel wrapped around her waist, and another draped over her wet hair. "Give me a minute to dry off. We need to have a talk..."