Title: Moonlight Conversations
Author: Treece
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. They are not mine. They belong to John Landis, Over the Hill Gang, New Line Television, Coote/Hayes, and a whole slew of talented people. I'm only playing with them for a little while and will return them in the same condition that I found them. I'm not making any money, only having a little fun.
Rating: G
Spoilers: Minor ones for season one's "Unnatural Selection" and season three's "Eye for an Eye" and "The Travelers". Plus, one sort of a major one for "Into the Fire" and "Out of the Blue"
Author's notes: Okay, this is the first story I've ever worked up the nerve to post. I have a couple of other TLW fics that might see the light of day, depending on how this goes. So reviews and comments would be really nice.
Thanks to Anna for being my beta and encouraging me to put this out there. g
* * indicates thoughts
Marguerite cautiously stepped out into the living area, scanning the room to make sure she was alone. It was late enough that everyone else should have long been asleep, but she didn't want to take the risk of running into anyone. If the others knew what she was up to, they would never let her live it down.
As quietly as possible, she stepped out onto the balcony and settled herself into one of the chairs. Casting another look around, she gathered up her nerve for what came next.
"Malone? Ned, are you here?"
Marguerite sat back, silently waiting for some kind of action or response to tell her Ned was indeed there. Only the regular nighttime jungle noises answered her. As time wore on, doubts began to creep into her mind. *I can't believe I'm actually doing this*, she thought. *I'm sitting out on the patio in my pajamas, trying to talk to an invisible person.* Never one to give up, she continued on with her plan.
"I don't know if you can hear me or not, but I just wanted to say thank you. For showing Challenger where to find the information on the Guardian, and for helping us to save John. If we had lost him..." she trailed off, then cleared her throat. "Well, if you've been hanging around, then you heard what I said to Roxton about the hunting. It just hasn't been the same since you've been gone. Nothing's really been the same," she added with a sad, quiet laugh.
Something creaked softly in the living area, causing Marguerite to jump and spin around, looking for the source of the noise. Nothing moved, and after several long moments of waiting to make sure that no one was moving about inside, she resettled herself in the chair.
Looked up at the star-filled sky, she continued her conversation with a sigh. "I miss you. The men miss you. Veronica ~really~ misses you, but I guess you already knew that." She fussed with the ties on her robe before continuing. "I've been thinking lately, remembering some of the sticky situations we've found ourselves in since we came to the plateau. Do you remember the time you, Summerlee, and I went out searching for the woman with the radio headphones? And she agreed to give them to us in return for some of your blood? You had the funniest look on your face as you hung upside down...."
Marguerite covered her mouth with her hand in an effort to stifle the sudden bubble of laughter she felt. "Remember how we even found her? The mysterious face in Summerlee's photograph. He kept trying to get you to be the human scale for those dinosaurs he was photographing as I stood off to the side harassing you. I kept teasing you about how we should send the photos home, you looked like you were about to explode, and poor Summerlee was just harried by the two of us."
She pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them for comfort. "I never told either of you, but to me, it felt like we were a family. I loved Summerlee like a father, and you like a younger brother. An annoying little brother at times, but a brother none the less."
A gentle breeze whispered across the balcony, ruffling her hair. Marguerite laughed quietly as she brushed away a few tears. "Where ever you are Ned, we're going to find you, I promise. We won't give up. Maybe if we're lucky, you'll know what happened to Summerlee and we can bring him home too. Then we'll all be together again."
She unfolded herself from the chair and leaned against the balcony railing. "Until then, I hope you're okay where you're at. Don't get too comfortable though because we'll find a way to bring you home soon. And once you're back, if you tell any of the others we had this conversation, I'll deny every word of it," she said, repeating the familiar line with a warm smile.
Marguerite briefly touched her fingertips to her lips before looking straight up into the night sky. "Goodnight Ned, where ever you are." The breeze gusted again, gently tugging at her hair.
Roxton waited for several moment after Marguerite had gone back to her room before he stepped out of the shadows and onto the balcony. He had come out of his room to get a drink and inadvertently stumbled across Marguerite's private conversation with Malone. He only felt slightly guilty about eavesdropping on such a personal conversation, considering that it gave him a little more insight into Marguerite's heart.
He fished into his pants pockets and pulled out a much folded piece of paper. In the dim moonlight, he could barely make out the script "Lady Marguerite Roxton" and accompanying pictures. Roxton quickly glanced down at the paper before folding it up and putting it back in his pocket.
"She's right, Malone," he said, staring out into the surrounding jungle. "We won't give up the search until you're back home. You can count on that. We're all waiting to hear the story of what's been happening to you, and you wouldn't want to disappoint us, would you?" The breeze seemed to sigh through the trees in response.
Roxton scanned the living area, fighting a yawn. "I suppose Marguerite had the right idea. We definitely earned some rest after today's adventure. Well, goodnight Malone."
Ned silently wandered the house, carefully checking on each sleeping inhabitant. Today's adventure had been a heartstopper, even by their standards. It had been so frustrating to know where to find the answer but not be able to communicate it to them. Hopefully, he would be reunited with them soon, and things would be like they'd been before. And Roxton was right, he had an amazing story to tell them.
End
Well, what did you think? Like it? Hate it? Let me know either way. Please?
Author: Treece
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. They are not mine. They belong to John Landis, Over the Hill Gang, New Line Television, Coote/Hayes, and a whole slew of talented people. I'm only playing with them for a little while and will return them in the same condition that I found them. I'm not making any money, only having a little fun.
Rating: G
Spoilers: Minor ones for season one's "Unnatural Selection" and season three's "Eye for an Eye" and "The Travelers". Plus, one sort of a major one for "Into the Fire" and "Out of the Blue"
Author's notes: Okay, this is the first story I've ever worked up the nerve to post. I have a couple of other TLW fics that might see the light of day, depending on how this goes. So reviews and comments would be really nice.
Thanks to Anna for being my beta and encouraging me to put this out there. g
* * indicates thoughts
Marguerite cautiously stepped out into the living area, scanning the room to make sure she was alone. It was late enough that everyone else should have long been asleep, but she didn't want to take the risk of running into anyone. If the others knew what she was up to, they would never let her live it down.
As quietly as possible, she stepped out onto the balcony and settled herself into one of the chairs. Casting another look around, she gathered up her nerve for what came next.
"Malone? Ned, are you here?"
Marguerite sat back, silently waiting for some kind of action or response to tell her Ned was indeed there. Only the regular nighttime jungle noises answered her. As time wore on, doubts began to creep into her mind. *I can't believe I'm actually doing this*, she thought. *I'm sitting out on the patio in my pajamas, trying to talk to an invisible person.* Never one to give up, she continued on with her plan.
"I don't know if you can hear me or not, but I just wanted to say thank you. For showing Challenger where to find the information on the Guardian, and for helping us to save John. If we had lost him..." she trailed off, then cleared her throat. "Well, if you've been hanging around, then you heard what I said to Roxton about the hunting. It just hasn't been the same since you've been gone. Nothing's really been the same," she added with a sad, quiet laugh.
Something creaked softly in the living area, causing Marguerite to jump and spin around, looking for the source of the noise. Nothing moved, and after several long moments of waiting to make sure that no one was moving about inside, she resettled herself in the chair.
Looked up at the star-filled sky, she continued her conversation with a sigh. "I miss you. The men miss you. Veronica ~really~ misses you, but I guess you already knew that." She fussed with the ties on her robe before continuing. "I've been thinking lately, remembering some of the sticky situations we've found ourselves in since we came to the plateau. Do you remember the time you, Summerlee, and I went out searching for the woman with the radio headphones? And she agreed to give them to us in return for some of your blood? You had the funniest look on your face as you hung upside down...."
Marguerite covered her mouth with her hand in an effort to stifle the sudden bubble of laughter she felt. "Remember how we even found her? The mysterious face in Summerlee's photograph. He kept trying to get you to be the human scale for those dinosaurs he was photographing as I stood off to the side harassing you. I kept teasing you about how we should send the photos home, you looked like you were about to explode, and poor Summerlee was just harried by the two of us."
She pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them for comfort. "I never told either of you, but to me, it felt like we were a family. I loved Summerlee like a father, and you like a younger brother. An annoying little brother at times, but a brother none the less."
A gentle breeze whispered across the balcony, ruffling her hair. Marguerite laughed quietly as she brushed away a few tears. "Where ever you are Ned, we're going to find you, I promise. We won't give up. Maybe if we're lucky, you'll know what happened to Summerlee and we can bring him home too. Then we'll all be together again."
She unfolded herself from the chair and leaned against the balcony railing. "Until then, I hope you're okay where you're at. Don't get too comfortable though because we'll find a way to bring you home soon. And once you're back, if you tell any of the others we had this conversation, I'll deny every word of it," she said, repeating the familiar line with a warm smile.
Marguerite briefly touched her fingertips to her lips before looking straight up into the night sky. "Goodnight Ned, where ever you are." The breeze gusted again, gently tugging at her hair.
Roxton waited for several moment after Marguerite had gone back to her room before he stepped out of the shadows and onto the balcony. He had come out of his room to get a drink and inadvertently stumbled across Marguerite's private conversation with Malone. He only felt slightly guilty about eavesdropping on such a personal conversation, considering that it gave him a little more insight into Marguerite's heart.
He fished into his pants pockets and pulled out a much folded piece of paper. In the dim moonlight, he could barely make out the script "Lady Marguerite Roxton" and accompanying pictures. Roxton quickly glanced down at the paper before folding it up and putting it back in his pocket.
"She's right, Malone," he said, staring out into the surrounding jungle. "We won't give up the search until you're back home. You can count on that. We're all waiting to hear the story of what's been happening to you, and you wouldn't want to disappoint us, would you?" The breeze seemed to sigh through the trees in response.
Roxton scanned the living area, fighting a yawn. "I suppose Marguerite had the right idea. We definitely earned some rest after today's adventure. Well, goodnight Malone."
Ned silently wandered the house, carefully checking on each sleeping inhabitant. Today's adventure had been a heartstopper, even by their standards. It had been so frustrating to know where to find the answer but not be able to communicate it to them. Hopefully, he would be reunited with them soon, and things would be like they'd been before. And Roxton was right, he had an amazing story to tell them.
End
Well, what did you think? Like it? Hate it? Let me know either way. Please?