Disclaimer: Do I have to write one for every page? *shrug* Oh well; the only character that's mine, so far, is Jenny. Everyone else belongs to…the people who made them up. I don't know who they are.
A. Jacelyn and bEc: Thank you so much for reviewing! I love you guys…
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Waking Up
Jenny moaned and stretched her arms over her head, eyes squeezed tightly shut. What a horrible dream, she thought sleepily. I'm never going to look at dinosaurs in quite the same way again. With an ear-popping yawn, she slowly cracked open her eyes.
Only to stare straight into a pair of surprisingly close sky-blue orbs.
Jenny shrieked and shot backwards until her back cracked into the headboard. "Who are you?!" she cried accusingly. "What are you doing in my room?" The pretty, tow-headed owner of the blue eyes turned her head to glance around, and Jenny followed her gaze. "For that matter," she cried in surprise, "where is my room?! Where am I?" Please say the hospital, she pleaded silently, though she seriously doubted it. The black, skimpy costume the girl was wearing was not exactly the hospital standard; neither was the bedroom.
With a reassuring smile, the girl dashed to the door and stuck her head out. "Challenger!" she bellowed, startling Jenny. "Roxton! Marguerite! Ned! She's awake!" Returning to the bedside, she placed her hands on her hips and stared down at Jenny. "I'm gonna let Challenger answer most of your questions," she said, "because he is better at that kinda thing than me, but for now…my name is Finn."
Jenny straightened and held out her hand. "How do you do," she said formally - doesn't hurt to be polite. "My name is Jenny." As Finn grasped her hand in a firm shake, a tall, red-headed man strode into the bedroom, closely followed by two handsome men and a dark-haired woman.
"Ah," said the first man, standing by Finn and peering down at Jenny with a kind smile. "And how are you feeling?"
Jenny hesitated, but the man reminded her too much of an affectionate grandfather for her to be frightened. "Fine," she said finally.
"Hungry?" he asked.
Jenny's eyes lit up. "Ravenous," she exclaimed. She hadn't realized it before, but know that it had been mentioned, her stomach felt like it was about to cave in.
The man laughed. "Wonderful! It just happens to be lunch time, and our dear Miss Marguerite," here he shot a glance at the brunette, "has prepared some wonderful sandwiches."
With a grin, Jenny wrapped her arms around her folded knees. "That's sounds splendid," she said, "But I think that I would like to know your names before I eat your food."
She couldn't help but laugh at the chagrined looks that appeared on everyone's faces.
* * * *
Jenny sat silently at the kitchen table, subtly examining the tree occupants seated around her as she ate. According to them, they had rescued her from the T-Rex, doctored her wounds, and brought her to the tree house, where she had been laying unconscious for almost two days. Such an interesting band of people, she thought, watching and listening as her rescuers bantered and teased, and yet, how thankful I am that I met up with them! If I had to end up in the middle of a jungle, I don't think that I could find a better group of people…
"Thank you," she said suddenly.
Conversation suddenly ceased and she found herself blushing as all eyes turned to her. "I never thanked you for rescuing me," she stammered, "so…thank you."
The dark haired man- Lord John Roxton, she reminded herself- raised an eyebrow; it seemed to be a habit of his. "You're welcome," he drawled, giving her a crooked smile. Jenny's blush deepened; she couldn't help it! The man was just so blasted handsome…too bad he's so much older, Jenny found herself thinking, and shot a quick glance over at the Lady Marguerite. Jenny may have only been up for a very small amount of time, but one would have to be blind not to notice that Roxton was attracted to the beautiful women; she couldn't, however, discern how the lady felt in return.
A cough from the opposite side of the table drew her attention to Ned Malone. "Jenny," the young man said, leaning forward eagerly, "where are you from?"
"London," Jenny said simply. And blinked at the astonishing affect this seemed to have on everyone.
"Ha!" Marguerite crowed happily, giving Roxton a triumphant look.
"Marguerite," Challenger warned, "Don't get too excited." He turned to Jenny as Marguerite rolled her eyes. "Child, what year is it?"
What year is it? Now, there's an odd question for you. "1924," she said. Maybe they don't have calendars out here in the wild. The excitement level in the room seemed to grow, but before anyone spoke, Challenger held up a hand for silence.
"Jenny," he said slowly, "how did you come to the plateau?"
"I fell over a cliff," she responded, somehow feeling that her response was incredibly important. But it didn't seem to be the answer they wanted for the happy looks quickly faded into disappointed ones.
"A cliff?" Challenger frowned.
Jenny nodded, staring at her food. Would they consider it impolite if she took a bite before answering? Probably; they seemed to be just as civilized as her, despite the fact that they lived in a tree-house. "Yes," she said finally, deciding to forgo the food until the end of the conversation. "With a waterfall."
"But how can you fall down a waterfall and land in the middle the jungle?" Malone asked in confusion. He looked at Challenger. "Is that possible?"
"It's not any stranger than the way I arrived here," Finn broke in, speaking around a mouthful of food. Jenny stared at her; maybe they didn't mind if…
"Finn, don't talk with your mouth full," Challenger said absently. The blonde made a face but obediently swallowed before speaking again. "I mean, this is the plateau we're talking about, guys! Anything can happen."
"Yes, my dear," Challenger said with a soft smile. "You are quite correct. But perhaps if Jenny remembers…" All eyes turned back to Jenny, who had almost managed to get a bit of sandwich while the attention was on Finn. With a sigh, she set it back on her plate.
"I hit my head on a rock on the way down," she said with a slight shrug of her shoulders. "When I woke up, I was in the middle of the jungle."
"No cliffs or waterfalls in sight?" Roxton asked her.
Jenny shook her head. "No. I'm sorry." Glancing around at the melancholy faces, she quickly popped a piece of fruit into her mouth, glad to get a break from the questioning while they sat in silence. You'd think they'd leave me alone to eat, Jenny thought ruefully as she took a bite out of her third sandwich. After all, I haven't eaten since I got here! But she slowed the food intake as her stomach finally began to be full, and she looked around thoughtfully. There was something so familiar about these people! Not really the people themselves, though, but their names. She had heard them somewhere before…Yes, in the newspapers, at school, and her parents had talked about them once or twice…
"I know who you are!" Jenny exclaimed abruptly. "You are that expedition that left to find proof of dinosaurs, aren't you?"
The excitement returned to Challenger's face. "Yes, yes we are!"
"So we are still talked about? They haven't forgotten us?" Malone asked, just as excited as Challenger.
"What about rescue parties?" Roxton joined in.
Jenny hesitated; once again, she should have just kept her mouth shut. These people looked depressed enough already. "I'm afraid…" She swallowed nervously. "Everyone thinks that you're dead." The silence was heavy as this obviously unwelcome news was digested. "I am sorry," Jenny said, looking around. "But it's been three years…some daring authors even wrote obituaries for all of you...you aren't in the news anymore…" The frowns deepened.
With a loud scrape, Malone pushed his chair back and stood up uncertainly. "I'm…going to go over my journals," he said faintly before walking quickly out of the room.
Jenny looked at Challenger anxiously. "Is he alright?"
Challenger ran a hand over his face. "We're just a little bit down, my dear. We had hoped…hoped that they would still be looking for us."
"I don't understand," Jenny frowned. "If you want to get home so bad, why don't you just leave? Why don't you just go back the way that you came?"
Marguerite snorted. "If was that easy, we would have left this bloody place years ago, believe me."
"Then what…" But the loud creaking of a nearby machine interrupted. Jenny's head turned toward the sound. An elevator, she realized, as a strikingly beautiful blonde stepped into the room.
Jenny blinked at the newcomer's outfit, her eyes sliding involuntarily over to Finn. What would my mother say if she say them! Jenny thought with an inward giggle.
"Well!" said the blonde, smiling at Jenny, "Who do we have here?" Challenger, who, along with Roxton, had stood upon her entrance, grinned and made the introductions.
"Miss Jennifer, meet Veronica Layton, owner of this magnificent tree-house. Veronica, this is Jenny. From London."
Veronica's eyebrow shot up. "London, eh?" Jenny nodded. The leather clad girl glanced around the room before bringing her blue-eyed gaze back to Jenny. She stuck out her hand. "Well, Jenny…Welcome to the plateau."
* * * *
Later that night as Jenny slipped into the bed they had made up for her in the corner of the tree-house, the implications of their earlier conversation finally sunk in.
She was stuck on the plateau.
For who knows how long.
Everyone probably thinks that I died…she thought, a single tear sliding down her cheek. After all, they did watch me fall over the waterfalls. And they won't find a body.
She attempted to keep the waterworks at bay by telling herself that at least she had a very nice group of people to watch over her, and other encouraging things, but despite her valiant efforts, her pillow was soon damp with tears.
Curled into a tight ball, Jenny silently cried herself to sleep.
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A/N: Ooo…kinda sad ending, I know. *sigh* Oh well. Thanks for reading!
Oh yes, that date up there, '1924': I made that up. I can't remember the time period that the explorers were on the plateau, so I made one up. If anyone knows the actual time, feel free to tell me.
