Disclaimers: I don't own the characters from Relic Hunter and I make no money from my fiction writing.

Thanks to everybody who's been reading and reviewing 'Legend of Sydney and Nigel', which I updated yesterday (Friday). This is just a little taster for a short story I flagged up in the first chapter of that. Although it also reads as a completely 'standalone' piece, its part of the shared universe I write with Tanya Reed, in that Syd and Nigel are a couple – though not married or anything.

I hope you enjoy – and please review.

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'See you in Khartoum, you lowlife!'

Sydney, hands on hips, yelled defiantly at the fumy grey tug-boat as it chugged off towards the horizon.

'And don't you worry - I will still get my hands on the Bora Bora Goddess before you!'

Sydney's strident shouts echoed weakly across the calm, blue ocean. They were lost in the sound of the gentle rise and fall of the waves long before they reached their target, or the endless curve at the edge of the world.

Nigel, who had slumped down onto his haunches on the clear, white sand, regarded her witheringly.

'And how are we now going to get the Bora Bora Goddess before him?' he asked quietly.

Sydney broke her furious stare at the departing boat and turned to him swiftly. 'I don't know yet,' she snapped, unable to quite shake off her anger. 'It's going to be tricky because that creep Albertos is just sailing off with the map.'

Nigel squinted up at her in semi-disbelief. 'It's going to be difficult, yes! But surely the map is irrelevant - we've just been dumped on a remote sand bank in the middle of the South Pacific, not ten metres across! We've got no food, no communications, one bottle of water… and no shelter from the sun!' Nigel lifted his hand and wiped it across his sweat-drenched forehead. 'I'm already burning - I can feel it!'

'You do look a little pink, yeah,' replied Sydney, still quaking with annoyance. 'But don't worry - I'll get us out of here.'

'And how do you propose to do that?' asked Nigel, his exasperation growing.

'I'm working on it,' said Sydney firmly. 'We…uh, we just need to make a signal or something, so that the next ship through these parts will pick us up.'

Nigel threw himself back onto the warm, dry sand, his arms stretched out above his head. His sodden shirt hung wide open, ripped slightly from where he'd been roughed up by Albertos' henchmen, and revealed his smooth, pale torso to the elements. Gazing up at the flawless blue sky, he averted his eyes from the pitiless sun that was already scorching his flesh, blistering the skin on his cheek-bones and nose. Out of the corner of his vision, he saw Sydney sit down beside him, fanning her face with her hand.

'We're going to have to build a fire, Nige,' she said matter-of-factly.

Nigel lifted his head slightly, scrunching his nose in disapproval. 'A fire?'

'To attract any ships we spot on the horizon,' explained Sydney. 'Nobody will see us if we just lie here…'

'That's blatantly obvious,' interjected Nigel. 'But what exactly are we supposed to build it with? This godforsaken place hasn't even got a palm tree on it…oh…no… you're not suggesting that!'

Sydney winced apologetically

'No!' Nigel sat bolt upright. 'Not my clothes! I won't do it. There are some states in which it is just not worth getting rescued!'

'Sorry,' said Sydney decisively, reaching across and wiping a strand of Nigel's shortish fringe from where it stuck to his brow. 'There's no choice - but, if it helps, we'll burn my stuff first. We'll get rid of my satchel, the contents, and my clothes, and save your gear until last. There's nothing wrong with being naked, Nigel, but I suppose we can't have you looking like a lobster!'

Nigel groaned piteously and threw himself backwards onto the sand again. This was it! He knew it. What an awful way to go….

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Thanks for reading. Please review and I'll try and get the next bit up soon.