Disclaimer: I own nothing of National Treasure. If I did, I would be in the movies. But considering I'm not... That should tell you something.

A/N: So this is one of those: Ben's sister joins the hunt stories, but I figured adding more background to the characters like how Riley was brought on the hunt, how Ben and Riley met, and stuff like that. I don't really know how many chapters I'll get to before, we're in the movie part of it but I hope you all enjoy! Reviews would be nice but not necessary. However, no flames please.

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I've never been one to be called a hero. Someone out there may but I'm not strong or brave. In fact, I'm a nerd and I run away from most fights. I guess you could say I'm a loser. All throughout high school and even now in college I've been subjected to the name calling. But I've gotten over it. I mean, it's life and those football jocks and cheerleaders will go with their careers for a few years then be fired or throw out their knees while I still have a job.

Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Riley Poole, treasure hunter and computer nerd. Yes, I said treasure hunter. I, along with some of my friends, the legendary Templar Treasure and The City of Gold. But I'll get to all of that later.

More to the point, I'm sure someone would call me a hero. His name is Ben Gates, older brother to Amelia, or as we call her Mia. Ben and I didn't know each other before I met his sister but now we're the closest friends. Mia and I are also really close but we fight a lot. And I mean a lot, a lot. Every other thing we say to each other is a disagreement or the first of an argument. Yet she still seems to trust me and tell me anything. It's something I can't really wrap my mind around but I'm glad she did. If not... I don't really what to know what would have happened.

It is here that I begin my story.

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It was late. Too late. Without realizing it, the twenty year old Riley Poole had stayed in the library for over six hours and it was almost eleven at night. The campus was eerily quiet for a college and even the crickets were silent. The soft glow of the lamps lit the concrete path that his trademark Converse sneakers softly scuffled on. As he walked, suddenly there was a noise in the bushes. It sounded almost like a moan... he shook his head. It's nothing he told himself. Nothing at all. But then... it happened again.

Finally having enough, he walked towards where he heard the noise. But before Riley could look behind the bushes, his foot stood in something squishy. Closing his eyes, he tried not to focus on what it was. Mud he thought. It's just mud. But something deep in his gut told him that wasn't the case.

Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked down. The liquid was a deep red. Blood... "Oh, no," he said aloud. Without making a sound, he peeked behind the bushes and saw a woman lying there, a deep gash in her side. "Oh, no," he repeated running to her side.

Riley had no medical experience at the time and had no idea what to do. Panic started to rise inside of his stomach and he tried to wake her up. When she did regain consciousness, she screamed, "Don't! Not again!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" he shouted over her voice. "I won't hurt you!" Evidently, she believed the young man and stopped screaming.

Instead, she began crying. "Please, help me," she sobbed. "Help me!"

"I-I-I don't know what to do!" he said, trying to stay calm.

"Pressure," she managed to choke out. "Grab my jacket and scarf. Wrap it tightly around my body." He obeyed without question hoping she was right.

"What now?"

"Help me up," she ordered weakly.

"But, your side is like, gushing. Can you walk?"

She let out an involuntary shriek of pain and said, "I have to get to a hospital."

"I-I-I guess I'll try and carry you to my car. There's a hospital right around the corner," he managed to stutter out. But he hesitated for a minute, not sure on how to proceed. With one last thought he gingerly picked her up. Blood leaked from the makeshift bandage and onto his navy blue shirt and hands. The girl gasped in pain and he said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It's fine," she whispered. "Go." Riley walked as fast as he could to his car without jostling the girl too much. When they finally got to his car, he placed her in the front seat and quickly moved to the driver's side. Still under the speed limit, he drove to the hospital while still trying to keep the dying girl in his car alive.

Finally, he pulled into the hospital parking lot and leaped out of the car. He grabbed her and ran into the ER, calling for help. A nurse took the girl from his hands and another told him to have a seat while they called the police. The police... It figures they would be called. The girl was attacked after all. Oh man, they would probably think I did it. Crap... he thought. Slowly, his eyes traveled down to his hands and he saw red. They were trembling and caked in the wet blood of the girl. Down on his shirt, there was a large stain and it had dripped down onto his jeans.

A detective then walked over to the spot where he had sat down and said, "Hey, kid. You wanna tell me what happened?"

"W-well I was just walking back from the library-" he started but was quickly interrupted.

"This late?"

"I-I have a term paper due tomorrow and I-I lost track of time," he replied scared of what might happen.

"Go on," the detective said calmly.

"W-well I heard something in the bushes and so I-I walked over and I stepped in-in blood. When I went further into the bushes, th-there was a girl lying there. I ran over and tried to wake her up and she did screaming 'no don't. Not again.' I told her I wasn't going to hurt her so she asked me to help her. Her side was...bleeding bad. She-she told me to wrap her side with her scarf and asked me to take her to a hospital."

"And you're sure that's what happened?" he asked. He nodded in agreement. "Okay."

"I-is she going to be okay?" he asked as the officer tried to walk away.

"I don't know, kid," he said. "I'm going to need your clothes, shoes, DNA, and your fingerprints."

"Whatever you want," he said. "I swear I didn't hurt her."

He then want to the nurse and asked for a pair of scrubs for him. The officer then told Riley to go and change in the bathroom and wash the blood from his hands. He complied as if on autopilot. Nothing like this had ever happened to him before and he was doing this in the state of shock. When he got out of the bathroom he gave the officer his clothes and sat back down in the spot he had recently vacated. His hands were still trembling badly and he over heard the detective whisper, "I'm going to need you to do a sexual assault exam as well." Ah, hell... he thought. The poor girl not only almost died but she was... Jesus...

Then another guy rushed into the ER saying, "Where's my sister? Where's Mia?" The detective walked over to him and tried to calm him down.

"Sir, you're sister has been badly injured and attacked. She is in surgery right now," he said.

The man covered his mouth and said, "What happened?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out now." Then he leaned in and the officer said something about Riley. When the two, broke apart, the man walked over to him and sat down in the vacant seat beside him.

"Hey," he said. "You're the one that found my sister?" All he could do was nod. "I'm Ben," he said offering his hand.

"R-Riley," the younger managed to stutter. "I swear I didn't hurt her. I j-just found her. That's all."

The guy, Ben, nodded and said, "I know. I don't think you did anything." After a few moments of an awkward silence, Ben placed a hand on his shoulder. "Kid, you're shaking," he said.

He tried to avert his deep blue eyes, but Ben's brown ones found them anyway. They're depths held a concern for him Riley hadn't seen in the longest time. Against his will, he started to talk. "I haven't seen that much blood...ever. I thought she was dead for sure. When she freaked, I could tell she was terrified. I-I didn't know what to do..."

"Well, I'm glad you figured it out."

"I-I didn't," he confessed. "She had to tell me what to do."

"Thank you for listening to her." He smiled and he couldn't help but smile back.

All of a sudden, a doctor came in. "I'm looking for someone here for Amelia," he called.

Ben stood up and told Riley he'd be right back. He watched as the doctor said something and Ben covered his mouth. He nodded and said something back. The doctor said one final thing and walked away. Ben made his way back over to Riley. "Well, she's out of surgery and is going to be okay physically. Mentally, he's not so sure."

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked looking up at him.

"Because, when they brought her out of the ICU she woke up and asked for the brown-haired kid. The guy who found her. She wouldn't let it go, kept repeating it over and over again. Wouldn't calm down at all. They had to sedate her."

"So..."

"I think you should see her. She obviously wants to see you," Ben replied.

"I-I don't know if that's such a good idea," he replied. Could I see this girl? Would I be able to keep it together? he thought to himself. Sure, he saved her life but would she still want to see him when she got to know who he really was? He couldn't be sure...

"Come on," Ben said gesturing with his head behind him. "I'll be there too. And she wants to see you. Come on." he repeated. Reluctantly, Riley got up from the chair he had been sitting in for the last couple of hours.

Riley followed Ben to the entrance of her room. What he saw disturbed him. When he had saved her, it was dark and he couldn't see the damage done to her face. Bruises covered one side. Some were on her neck and looked oddly like finger marks. She had a split lip and her wrists were mangled as well. "I don't know if I can do this..." he told Ben his hand wrapping around his stomach.

"Come on," he said lightly touching his elbow. "It'll be fine, kid." He swallowed hard but followed him into her room anyway.

He lingered by the door and waited. When she looked up, her eyes filled with tears. "Ben," she whimpered.

"Hey, Mia," he replied with a small smile.

"I'm sorry," she said letting the tears fall.

"Don't worry," he said taking her hand in his. "Everything's gonna be all right. Now," he said. "You remember when you woke up and asked for the kid you found you?" She nodded. "Well, he's right there." His finger pointed to Riley and he looked down. He could tell that both of the siblings were looking at him.

"Ben," he heard her whisper, "could you give us a sec?"

"Sure," Ben nodded. "I'm just outside if you need me."

When the door closed, she said, "Hey."

"Hey," he answered back. "How are you f... Never mind. That's a-a dumb question."

"Feeling?" she finished. "Okay. Good news bad news I guess."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Bad news, the stitches hurt like hell. Good news, they just upped my morphine so..." she lightly chuckled as did he. "Thank you... for saving my life."

"No problem," he said not knowing what else to say.

"I don't even know your name..." she said.

"Riley," he said. "I'm Riley."

"I'm Mia," she responded holding out her hand. The boy was forced to move closer to shake it. "It's nice to meet you."

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A/N: Did you like it? Good? Bad? Let me know! Thanks! :D