Author: blood_red_cherry [that's me]

Disclaimer: None of the characters besides Aaron and his mother belong to me. Everything else belongs to their respective owners, No infringement on copyright is at all intended this is a story of fiction, for entertainment purposes only.

Rating: PG, anyone can read it.

AN: this is writing in process

*~ Three Explorers and a Baby ~* Ch. 1 of ?

The jungle was unusually hot and Marguerite Krux wiped her sweaty hair off the nape of her neck, she jammed it up into her hat.

The five of them, Marguerite, Lord John Roxton, Ned Malone, Professor George Challenger and Veronica were out scouring the jungle.

The night before there had been a particularity nasty storm. It had only stopped pouring rain around six in the morning and they were out there in the humid heat of the after-storm because Marguerite had insisted that the noises she had heard the night before had been the noises of an airplane.

The entire morning she had been trying to convince them all before John had grown sick of hearing her voice and had insisted to Challenger that they go out and show Marguerite what she heard wasn't an airplane just to shut her up.

Lord John Roxton pulled of his hat and ran a hand through his sweaty hair, "listen Marguerite there's nothing out here!"

Just as John shouted Professor George Challenger could have sworn he heard the sound of a baby's crying.

"Ssh!" Challenger hissed he held up a hand and pointed to somewhere in front of them, "you hear that?" He asked, John shook his head but the rest nodded.

"Do you think it could be-" Ned Malone began.

Challenger shrugged, "we will just have to wait and see, but be ready for anything," he motioned for Veronica and John to go ahead, Marguerite followed behind them, "up there, that's where the noise is coming from."

The three of them crept into the clearing and sure enough there was the airplane- or what had been an airplane, all that was left was the cabin, the rest of the airplane was grotesquely twisted metal.

"Ha!" Marguerite yelled, Ned and Challenger rushed into the clearing bearing their weapons. Marguerite waved her hand at the wreckage, "what did I tell you George, an airplane."

Veronica had ventured into the cabin, "there all dead!" She cried out, sticking her head out of the gaping hole that had served as a door.

"But I could have sworn..." Challenger murmured to himself, suddenly the sharp cries could be heard again, ringing out clearly in the nearly silent jungle. He pointed at the airplane, "there!" He shouted.

Marguerite charged into the cabin, it held four seats and was piled with luggage and rubble, two people- who Marguerite assumed were the parents were slumped over and as she stepped closer she saw they were both dead. The loud crying could still be heard and Marguerite fell to her knee's pulling away a blanket and brushed twisted metal away, revealing a baby.

He was lying in a pair of slightly tattered periwinkle blue pajama's. He appeared to be probably around a year old. His eyes were squeezed tightly shut but as Marguerite's hands brushed across his body the baby's eyes opened to reveal dark blue orbs, which were the color of the sea in a violent storm. His hair was plentiful on his head and fell in soft curls that were like silk to the touch.

The baby's face was scrapped but other than that he appeared to be unharmed, Marguerite picked up the squirming baby in her arms and walked to the door of the cabin.

"Shh, sweet thing it's all going to be all right now," she cooed into the baby's ear, rubbing her rose against the baby's hair she breathed in the sweet scent of him, it was a mix of baby powder and lilacs. She grinned, "it's a baby," she said loudly and Veronica and Ned rushed forward.

"Is it hurt?" Veronica asked, Marguerite shook her head.

"Careful now Marguerite," Challenger cautioned, "don't move to fast, you don't want to drop and injure it."

A look of hurt crossed Marguerite's features and her eye's shot daggers at Challenger, then in a flash it was gone and she looked down at the baby, "give me some credit," she murmured, then looked up to Veronica holding the baby out to show her. "He appears to be a little scraped and bruised, but other than that I think he's fine, other than frightened. He must have been through a lot."

At the sight of the baby Veronica's face broke into a wide grin and she turned to Ned, "look," she said and the three of them bent over the baby cooing and laughing quietly.

"Does anyone else see this as a problem?" John asked shouldering his weapon.

~*

Marguerite combed through the airplane looking for anything that held baby supplies as Veronica struggled with the baby.

"You have to support his head and his back," Ned explained.

Marguerite cried out as if she had found a great treasure and she pulled a large leather bag and hefted it out of the cabin.

"Here's his stuff," Marguerite grunted, dropping his bag in front of Veronica, she held out her arms and Veronica handed her the baby.

"Marguerite," Challenger began, "we cannot keep this baby, we have enough troubles caring for ourselves let alone a helpless infant."

Marguerite's eyes were defiant, "and you'd sooner what? Leave him here all alone for the raptors or the cannibals?"

"That's not what I meant-"

"Marguerites right," Ned said, he paused then went on, "I never thought I'd say that in a million years but isn't that the reason we should take the baby? Because it is a helpless child? We can't just leave him the Plateau is a dangerous place."

Veronica was going through the large leather bag, "there is everything he needs in here; diapers, clothes baby formula and powder."

Realizing that he was out numbered Challenger only shook his head.

Marguerite grinned and turned to John, "isn't he beautiful?"

John looked down at the baby, then back up at Marguerite.

"Boo boo baa baa, doo daa buuhhhhhhh," the baby cooed he reached out his hands to John, "Da da, poo pa di do nuuuh," the baby gurgled and he drooled slightly. He began to squirm and reached out his fists clenched and unclenching.

"What, what does he want?" John asked alarmed.

"I think he wants to see you," Marguerite explained.

"What? He wants to do what?" John asked flustered.

"He wants for you to hold him," Marguerite explained somewhat exasperated, "here," she handed him to John. "You have to support his back," she placed John's right hand on the middle of the baby's back and John's other hand under the baby's bottom, "and his bottom, like that."

John patted the baby's back awkwardly.

The baby stared up into John's face and smiled widely showing of a few tiny teeth, "mor mo ka bo buuhhhh," he reached up and pulled John's hat off and stuck it in his mouth and began to chew on it.

"Hey!" John yelled.

"Calm down Roxton, he's just a baby," Marguerite chided.

"Marguerite, dare I might ask how you know so much about babies?" Challenger queried.

For a split second Marguerite's face clouded over but it was brief and a moment later she was smiling down at the baby again, she ran a hand over his soft curls. "Hi sweetheart," she cooed, then she looked up to Challenger, "I took care of the younger kids in the orphanage," she explained quickly. Ned shouldered the large brown bag and John handed over the baby.

~*

To be continued most definitely...