All that glitters is not Gold

Alright, after a veeerrrryyy long summer break on my end, here comes chapter 10. Finally. Sorry for the long pause.

I hope you'll enjoy it. Now the trip into the jungle finally starts.

Chapter 10: What Tomorrow Brings

At the clinic, 5.25 am

During the night, the weather had slightly changed its daily course. It had started raining constantly and the humidity had reached an all-time high, with Lily's hair curling in every place, and with sleep becoming impossible. That and the fact that whenever she closed her eyes, she thought back to her almost-kiss with Ben – her boss! – the other day. Even now, she had to sigh and push away those thoughts. Powerful thoughts, at that. It was like Keeton couldn't leave her alone for just one second. He was walking the halls of the clinic by day, and haunting her mind at night. They would need to talk this 'problem' out – sooner or later.

So now, with sleep being impossible and it being 5.30 a.m., Lily sat on the porch of the clinic and looked out into the woods. It was still not really fully dawned, but light enough to make out the path into the jungle that led to La Cortina. Mina, Otis, and Ryan had left the clinic yesterday to treat the people of the village, as the others had been busy packing their bags for their own trip through the jungle. Tommy had decided to accompany the others once again, but he had promised to be back by dawn. So, Lily waited and kept her eyes focused on the path that became clearer by the second, although the rain came down hard, and thundered on the corrugated roof of the clinic.

Of course, the simple mercury test she had performed yesterday had been positive – after how passionately Tommy had argued for his cause, she doubted it would say otherwise. Therefore, they had the proof they needed to go on their little trip of finding the mine, polluting El verdor.

Lily's eyes wandered over to a couple of raindrops that fell right on the wooden stairs, causing different sounds from the thundered drum roll above her. Like the ticking of a metronome during her piano lessons when she was young. Focusing her mind on something other than Ben Keeton, his presence, warmth, and husky voice was somewhat soothing. So, with the rain hammering down, and with the drops setting a steady rhythm, Lily suddenly drifted off. The lack of sleep and the atmosphere around her lulled her in, as her head sank back against the wooden wall. No harm in taking a nap before heading into the jungle, right?

Ben Keeton was up, too. He had some things to pack and stuff to coordinate, since he would be gone into the jungle for a few days. And as much as he trusted Otis, Ryan, and their skills, he just needed to make sure they had some kind of a written down guideline, a kind of What-if list that they could have a look at - just in case.

Apart from writing that list and packing a few medical supplies, his mind seemed to always come back to Lily and their last encounter in the pharmacy. What is it with that pharmacy, anyway? He mused and remembered how close they had gotten in that room over the last few days. Could it be that they somehow felt drawn to it? In order to be alone? To talk to each other? To nearly kiss? Ben inhaled deeply and looked up from the paper in front of him, and out of the window and through the thick curtain of rain. What was it with him and her? And their mutual attraction? Ben felt like it was some kind of a higher power that he couldn't fight against. After all, she had tried to keep it professional yesterday – and what did he do? Ben knew how he SHOULD react and behave, and yet – knowing and acting were two different things when it came to her. Sooner or later, they would have to talk about them and where they wanted or needed this to go. Ben knew that. If there wasn't the big BUT …

Ben shook his head and brushed his fingers through his thick hair to get rid of her picture, as he tried to focus on the rain again. Not so much fun to hike in this kind of weather, he mused and dropped his pen to stretch his fingers and take another sip of coffee from his mug, only to discover that it was already empty. He sighed. And not so much fun to start a day without another coffee.

Ben got up and strolled over to the clinic's kitchen, where he had made some coffee earlier, but suddenly stopped as he noticed two stretched out legs. His pace quickened as he thought about someone in medical need and dashed around the corner, only to be looking down at Lily Brenner, obviously sleeping, as her chest was rhythmically moving up and down. He would have chuckled, if she wouldn't have looked so peaceful and relaxed. And so he carefully squatted down only a few feet away from her, not trying to make a sound. Forgotten was his coffee and back were his thoughts about the doctor in front of him. The pharmacy. And her smell.

He knew he was probably an intruder, if not a stalker, watching her sleep – but he seldomly got the chance to take a good look at her. Especially when she was this calm and quiet. It was rather excitement and cooking tension when they were together – either privately or professionally. So, Ben indulged in the moment. With the rain coming down hard, silencing every other sound, he just watched Lily Brenner and her curly hair.

Lily drew in a deep breath. She must have dozed off, but she couldn't be sitting and sleeping on the clinic's hallways – what if somebody found her? Soon, the others would come back and people would walk around, and actually, Lily was not really looking forward to getting caught. So, she carefully opened her eyes and wanted to stretch, as she looked right into the grey-blues of a certain man she had hoped to forget for just a few seconds. She jerked back immediately, with her eyes wide and a "Good God!" on her lips. Damn, he is close, isn't he?

Ben carefully smiled, as a means to make up for is stalker behaviour, "Can I get you a pillow?"

Great, Lily thought, you wanted nobody to find you asleep and still you got discovered by Keeton / your boss. "Damn it, Ben!" She snarled.

His heart warmed for her once again while the sound of his first name still lingered between them. She had only used it once – and that had been just moments before they nearly kissed.

Lily thought about getting up, but her position next to a bench and his position in front of her made it impossible. So she decided to play this cool and calm down, "Have you been watching me sleep?"

"Actually, I was on my way to get coffee."

"So, what stopped you?" Right this second she knew she shouldn't have asked, because she knew what he would reply. So, Lily raised her hand in a gesture that kept him mum, "No, don't say it!"

Ben carefully smiled and saw how the blush crept onto her cheeks. If he were someone to say cute that would be the word he would use to describe her right now. With a smile circling his eyes he said: "Do you want some?"

Lily blinked and tried to understand what that man in front of her offered, but it was either her lack of sleep or the bad doze she had had that left her at a loss, "Excuse me?"

"Coffee? You want some? As some kind of a peace offering … for me watching you sleep?"

Lily's mouth gaped open, "So you did watch me in my sleep!" That little pervert, Lily thought and shifted her stance against the wall, but at the same time the butterflies in her stomach returned. He had watched her in her sleep. The thought somehow warmed her from within.

"I didn't say I didn't, did I?"

That boyish smile and tone will be the death of me, Lily thought and sighed inaudibly, before she remembered herself to keep it cool. "Milk, no sugar," was all she offered him, plus a small smile edging her lips.

"Coming right up," Ben's smile grew wider as he pushed himself up and got two new mugs of coffee, before he slid down next to her, watching the rain.

There are worse ways to start a day. And there'll be other times to talk about serious things, both thought, as they listened to the rain, enjoyed their coffee, and waited for the others to return.

The Clinic, 8.15 am

Zee brushed the sweat off of her forehead and cursed the five litres of water she had in her backpack, besides all the other stuff she would need for their trip through the jungle. But with the river being out of the question as a source for water, they were simply forced to bring as much water as possible. But with the rain still this strong, maybe we could simply collect some on the way?

Otis Cole, Mina, and Ryan stood in front of the group that was about to head off.

"You sure you've got everything?" Otis asked, while his eyes wandered between the group and the pouring rain. His t-shirt was still wet from his trip through the jungle. And frankly, he was glad he did not have to accompany them.

Ben and Zee nodded, strapped their backpacks tighter, and seemed reluctant to leave the dry security under the porch to step out into the rain, "Yeah, I guess so," Ben replied and went over his mental checklist: meds, water, weapons. The last one was stored in hand's reach, because he knew that it could come into handy. The jungle was vast, and its inhabitants various. Ben just liked to be prepared, because nobody knew what they would come across in the jungle – who they would meet and what would and could be happening. And with him having the responsibility for the group, he wouldn't take any chances.

"You guys be careful out there," Ryan said and tried to dry her hair, "we want you all to come back in one piece." She was sure, though, that they were prepared for most of the things that could happen out there, yet she needed to utter it anyway.

Zee smiled gratefully and looked over to Charlie, who already took a sip from one of his water bottles, "Yes, me too."

"Apropos all – where are Brenner and Fuller?" Asked Ben and rolled up the sleeves on his blue linen shirt.

Right that second, Lily and Tommy Fuller appeared in front of the porch – already soaked to the bone, with dripping locks, but apparently in a good mood, chatting their time away.

Ben stopped his actions and watched those two doctors with amusement. They made this trip seem much more easy than it probably would be. But just watching them calmed him down a little, and the thought about the semi-automatic holstered in his waistband was suddenly forgotten, and his shoulders were only heavy from the eight litres of water he carried in his backpack.

Mina's eyes were wide with surprise, "Uhm, excuse me … what have you been up to?"

Fuller shrugged and turned his face towards the open sky, letting the rain wash over his face heavily, "We just figured it wouldn't really matter if we started off wet, would it?" Moreover, Tommy already had been wet when they got back from La Cortina. Tommy grinned brightly and turned the machete in his hand, testing the most comfortable position, "I always wanted to try one of these out."

Lily smiled, as her hand wandered to her machete carefully attached to her belt, before she adjusted the heavy load on her back. She was used to hiking, even with a heavy backpack, but hiking through a South American jungle would really be a different game, and she was bound to find out if she was cut out for it or not. A little fun with Tommy on the side was helpful to lighten the somewhat downed atmosphere, and Lily figured that it could only help to start this adventure off with a little light-heartedness instead of the depression oozing from the others.

"Huh," Mina snuffled bemused and felt a smile creeping onto her face. Tommy was always someone to lighten the mood – and in combination with Lily, he almost always turned back into a goofy guy.

Zee just shook her head, still dreading to leave the dry security of the porch, but as Charlie and even Ben started down the stairs, all eyes suddenly lay on her, so she started moving, as well.

"Alright, guys, we'll see you in a few days," Ben said, still feeling every raindrop on his dry shirt.

Ryan, Otis, and Mina nodded, as Charlie and Lily already started towards the dark green rainforest.

Their adventure had begun.

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Leave a comment, if you like. Please excuse any vocabulary, spelling, grammar and punctuation mistakes.

Take care, K.

* Spanish translations and additional info in Chapter 10:

None.