DISCLAIMER: If you recognise it from the movies, it belongs to Spielberg and Lucas.

Chapter 1: The Return

Patan, Nepal, 1933

Down he went. Marion Ravenwood smiled and tossed back another shot. This arrogant ass was twice her size but he still went down as easily as anybody else. Marion stood up, gathering her winnings, grinning to herself. Even as she collected the money, she knew Abner would just take it all when he got back.

Marion raised her voice and called out, sending them all out. She counted the money as they all filed out. Marion took a deep breath and pushed her money into her pockets. Her winnings always went to Abner's expeditions. He always found every dollar she made, no matter where she hid it.

There wasn't a real lot she could do about it. She could only pack up and crawl into bed. Marion moved to do just that when she heard a voice behind her. And it was a voice she knew well.

'Hello Marion.'

Marion spun around. Just as she thought. Standing in the doorway, slowly walking in, was the first and only man she gave her heart to. Marion smiled, acting happy to see him, and stepped forward, dusting her hands off.

'Indiana Jones,' she said. 'Always knew someday you'd come back through my door. Something made it inevitable. So what are you doing in Nepal?'

Marion saw something twitch in Indy's face. It was almost "I should be so lucky". He said, 'If you had to hazard a guess, what would you say?'

Marion watched him turn his head away, looking around the place. She took her opportunity and swung, punching him square in the jaw. 'I'd say I learned to hate you in the past seven years.'

Indy nodded to himself as if he'd been expecting it. 'Do you?'

Marion drew back. 'What's that supposed to mean?'

Indy smiled tightly and stepped towards her. 'You're mad as all hell at me but you don't hate me.'

Marion glared at him. Her heart was pounding in her chest and Indy's smell was invading her senses. He was too close. She wanted to kiss him, let him take her into his arms. But he left her. The bastard wasn't getting in that easy.

And she wasn't that easy.

Marion turned on her heel, grabbing a tray and starting to clean up the dirty glasses. 'If you're looking for Abner, he's gone to Kathmandu. I don't expect him back for a few days.'

'Good.' Indy leaned against the bar. 'He'll only get in my face a whole lot. I'm not here to talk to him. I wanted to see you.'

Marion scoffed. 'I bet! Get out!'

'Only if you mean that,' Indy said. 'If you do, I'll go and you'll never see me again.'

'I mean it,' Marion said. At the same time, her stomach was churning. She could tell that he meant it. Far be it for her to admit it, but she didn't really want him to walk out of her life forever.

Indy chuckled. 'See, I'd believe that…if it weren't for one little thing.'

Marion looked at him as she brought a tray of dirty glasses over to the bar. 'Yeah? What's that?'

'Well, I told you about Nick. The guys he answers to weren't too happy with where we were going.' Indy set something on the bar.

Marion looked. It was a handful of small journals, held together by a rubber band. 'How do you mean "where we were going"?'

Indy smiled bitterly. 'When I left you, I was unknowingly following a pattern. But, with us, something went wrong with it. The big guns decided to teach me a lesson by showing me these guys.' He tapped the journals.

Marion picked up the pile and turned it over in her hands. She had heard of Nick, of course. He was one of Indy's closest friends and responsible for the whole of reality. It was just a mystery as to why he'd taken an interest in Indy. 'How do you know they weren't just dreams? Because Nick said so?'

'Well, that and I checked,' Indy said. 'I found historical evidence of all the guys that they showed me. They actually existed. It went from just after I left you until part-way through last year. I wrote it all down.'

'What for?' Marion asked.

'You read them and see.'

Before Marion could stop him, Indy leaned over and kissed her cheek. He grinned when he saw the indignant look on her face. Then he turned and started walking out, pulling a larger book out of his pack and leaving it on the bar as he passed it. Marion watched him go, shocked.

The nerve of that bastard!

'I'll be back in a day or so, freckles.' And then he had to go and use his old pet name for her. Indy stopped as he opened the door. 'You read those. I think you'll find them interesting. I sure as hell did.' That said he walked out, letting the door swing closed behind him and leaving her staring at the door, gawking.

As soon as she heard the door hit its frame, she snapped out of it. 'You bastard!'