Chapter 2

Anna glanced at John and offered a weak smile "So much for the promise that nothing would go wrong."

John looked down at Anna and offered her a small smile.

He shrugged, trying for humor. "Alone at last?"

That got a small smile out of Anna, but soon it was replaced with a frown. "What are we going to do?

John looked at what was left of the plane. It was still on fire and probably would be for a few hours. Any beacons would be destroyed though with the flames so after that they really would be on their own. He had filed a flight plan, but in taking Anna off course their exact location would not be known. He sighed.

"We will have to hope that the smoke from the fire can be seen by a passing boat or even another plane. When we don't return in a few hours they will send out a search party to look for us. Unfortunately I am not sure exactly where we are, which means they won't either. So it could take few days until we are found."

Anna tried to look brave, but it was a losing battle and tears formed in her eyes. "What if they can't find the island? What if they never find us?" The tears started streaming down her face.

John took one look at how scared she looked and after hesitating briefly he pulled her into his arms. She didn't fight him; instead she seemed to hold on for dear life. He held her tightly to him for a few moments, rubbing up and down her arms with his hands. He pulled back to look at her. He offered a half smile.

"We will be okay; we will figure a way out of this. I promise you. For now though we have to come up with a plan." He looked at the sky, "We have a few hours of full daylight left, I suggest we do a little exploring and see what natural resources we have in case we have to settle in for the night." He looked down at Anna. "You okay?"

Anna took a deep breath and nodded. She stepped out of his arms, and immediately felt the distance. She had felt safe when he had his arms wrapped around her. Still she would be strong; she wouldn't fall apart on him. She knew she had to keep it together in order to get out of this situation. "I'm fine. Where should we start?"

John looked down the beach. The actual beach wasn't very wide, and it was surrounded by a dense forest. He had no clue how deep it went, but he figured probably 3 to 4 miles. Their best bet would be to build a shelter for the night and if they hadn't been discovered by then they would bunker down for the night and explore the center of the island tomorrow. He hoped they would find a natural water source. They would need to clean out their cuts and they would need fresh water to drink. He glanced up the beach again and turned to Anna.

"We should at least build some kind of shelter so we can have a place to protect ourselves from the elements in case we do have to spend the night. The plane should burn itself out by tonight and in the morning we can inspect what is left, although I doubt there will really be anything salvageable. I did have a few provisions on board, but I am sure those burned up first. So we will have to look for food and a fresh water source in the morning." He winced at the pain in his head and touched the bump. He didn't think he had a concussion, but it still hurt. He looked at the cuts on Anna's face. They had stopped bleeding. They would need to be cleaned out though. "Okay, let's start walking and see where we should build a basic shelter for the night."

Anna nodded and let John lead the way. She looked around the beach trying to find a place that would be good for a shelter, but she had to admit it all looked like flat sandy beach to her. She felt like she was in a movie. Never in a million years did she think she would be stranded on a desert island.

"How far from the water should we be?"

"We should be safe from high tide if we stay at the edge of the trees." I don't think we are going to find anything natural that would serve as a shelter, so we should just pick a spot and start figuring out how to build one ourselves." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small knife. He showed it to Anna. "This isn't much but it should at least work to cut down some small branches and some of the bigger leaves to cover it with. We will have to make due for now. I do have a fire ax in the plane and the actual blade might be still be serviceable."

Anna pointed to a spot near where they were standing. "Well over there seems as good a place as any. Plus the trees are long enough that it might offer a little bit of shade."

John nodded. "Okay the first thing we should look for is any fallen branches or limbs that look strong enough to build a frame. I want us to stay together, though."

Anna nodded. That sounded good to her, the last thing she wanted to happen was to get separated from John. She started towards the forest. "How far should we go in?"

"Not too far, maybe a half a mile. I want to make sure we leave ourselves enough time to get back and get something up before it gets too dark. I am not sure if I can start a fire or not. I haven't been a Scout for a long time."

Anna stood back and looked at everything they had collected over the past two hours. While it looked like a lot she had no idea how it was supposed to form any kind of shelter. She watched as John re-emerged from the woods. He had taken off his long sleeve cotton shirt and was just in a thin white t-shirt. Anna had to admit he looked very good. She could see some of his chest hair curling over the collar of his shirt and the muscles in his arms rippled as he moved a heavy limb he had found in the forest. He stopped for a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow and run his hand though his hair, which had become slightly curly in the heat. Anna imagined running her hands through that thick hair. She took a deep breath and shook her head. What was she doing checking out the man as they were stranded on an island?

John placed the heavy limb on the ground and looked at what else they had collected. They had found five heavy limbs which might work as the base of support and they had collected dozens of thin branches that would work as the frame for all the big tropical leaves. He looked up to speak to Anna when he was momentarily stunned by how beautiful she looked. She had arrived for the tour in capri pants and a blue sleeveless top covered by a flowing long blouse. She had tied the blouse around her waist after they had arrived back at the beach. She was gorgeous. John groaned to himself. He better keep himself in check or he would do something he would regret later. They were stranded on this island for the foreseeable future, and he had to focus on that and not get distracted. He pointed to a handful of branches. He held out his knife. "Anna, I am going to need you do trim some of these branches. They are flexible enough to use as ties for the frame of our shelter. I am going to start arranging these limbs and branches. He watched as Anna nodded and took the knife, settling on the sand next to the pile. He smiled at her focus and determination. Her tongue stuck out a little from the corner of her mouth and John's smile faltered as he pictured that tongue doing other things with him. He shook his head. He needed to focus on the problem ahead of him and less on the beautiful woman he was stranded with. It would lead to nothing good if he got involved with her. She deserved much better than him. He bent down and started constructing the base of the shelter.

The brightness of the sky was fading as John and Anna put the finishing touches on their shelter. It was small probably 8x8 but it was big enough for them to sit and lay down in and not literally be on top of each other. There was an opening in the front facing the beach and it was near the opening that Anna was building a small wood pile for a fire, while John tried to use his almost long forgotten Scout skills to try and start a spark to get the fire going. He was rubbing two sticks together at a rapid pace looking for the tell-tale smoke that might ignite the needed spark. Anna looked up as John let out a quick shout and slowly crawled to the pile of wood and leaves Anna had built. She smiled as he placed the smoking pile of shavings into the base and clapped her hands as the ember caught and the fire starting burning. John looked up at her with a smile on his face and Anna couldn't help but throw her arms around him. John lost his balance at the contact and fell back, instinct had him holding onto Anna and taking her with him. They fell back landing on the sand, Anna on top of John.

Anna started giggling and opened her eyes. Her giggles cut off as she realized their faces were only inches from each other. She glanced down at his mouth which was slightly parted. She watched as he moved his hand up and cupped her cheek. She turned her face into the warmth. Slowly he brought her face down and she closed her eyes in anticipation of his lips. Suddenly there was large grumbling sound and Anna opened her eyes looking down as John chuckled and slowly sat them up placing Anna next to him.

"Sorry, I am starving."

Anna nodded. "I saw some loose coconuts down the way a little bit. I can go get them. It will at least be something to eat for tonight." She quickly stood up and John watched her walk away. He shook his head and looked down at his stomach.

"Thank goodness you spoke up. I was about to make a huge mistake." He stood up and met Anna on the way back. He grabbed the coconuts and brought them back to their little shelter, setting down. Anna sat next to him and watched as he worked on opening one with his little knife. He handed her one half and she gratefully took it drinking the cool liquid. That sat in silence enjoying the coconut. Anna wanted to speak up and talk about what had almost happened, but she had a feeling John would rather not, so she kept silent.

John stood up grabbing the empty shells and tossing them to the side of the shelter. "We probably should get some sleep. If we don't see any ships or planes in the morning we will have to start exploring the island for food and a natural water source. We can't live on coconuts alone. He crawled into the shelter and settled down on the left side. Anna settled down next to him. She realized there was only a few feet between them. Maybe it had been a good thing they hadn't kissed earlier. This was already awkward enough. She looked over at him and smiled.

"Cozy."

John smiled. "I certainly hope you don't snore."

Anna burst out in laughter and turned on her side so she was facing John. Her face grew serious. "I'm glad that you're here, John. I just wanted to tell you that."

He reached for her hand and squeezed it briefly before letting go. "We are going to be okay, Anna. I promise you we will find a way out of here."

Anna nodded. She gave him another smile and closed her eyes. "Good night John."

"Good night." John watched as she adjusted herself to be as comfortable as she could on a bed made of sand and leaves. A few minutes later he heard her breath deepen as she slipped into slumber. A piece of hair had fallen across her face and before John could think he lifted his hand to move it off her face. His hand stayed there for a moment before he pulled it back.

John closed his eyes and sighed. He was in so much trouble.

I know this wasn't the most exciting chapter, but I wanted to get them all set up for a bit of a stay. I promise upcoming chapters will have a lot of excitement. I have a lot of plans for Anna/John on their little deserted island! :D