Hello lovely reviewers.

Do you ever start writing a fanfic and you're completely in love with the movie you're writing about as well as the characters. And then before the fic is complete, you totally lose interest in the movie? I'm afraid that has happened to me. :( My love for National Treasure is pretty much gone. I still think it's a good movie, but I no longer label it as my number one like I did when I posted the first chapter of this fic.

But don't worry; I'm going to finish this story. One more chapter to go after this. I'm a bit sad. lol.

Also, I thought I'd let you know what has taken NT's place as my favorite movie of all time. Ready?

Star Wars!

Oh yes, I am a hardcore Star Wars fan at the moment. And I'm beginning to think this obsession won't ever go away. My love for Obi-Wan Kenobi/Ewan McGregor (hotttt!) is huge. Super, super huge. I love it. I'm actually annoying the heck out of my dad by watching the end of Episode III over and over again - from the part where Anakin kills Mace Windu until the end credits.

And I'm becoming a nuisance to my mom by humming the Star Wars theme very loudly while spinning around in circles wearing my bathrobe and acting like it's a Jedi cloak.

I have reason to believe that I've completely lost it.

Riley wasn't sure if he could make it. He had already trailed silently behind the others for ten miles, unable to speak due to the reoccurring stab of pain in his chest which made his breath hitch every now and then. He sighed softly and focused on controlling his uneven breathing, not wanting to worry anyone or cause the group to take another break.

Ben hadn't spoken to him at all since their conversation. He wondered if the treasure hunter was in pain at all from his wound. He didn't act like it. He just trudged on as if the bullet had never hit him. But that was how Ben was, strong and never showing signs of pain. Inside, the older man was probably close to exhaustion. Luckily, Dennis had some bandages with him and was able to wrap Ben's shoulder to keep it from bleeding as much. It seemed to help, because some color had finally returned to his face.

Riley coughed silently into the back of his hand. In the past half hour or so, he seemed to have gotten a bad cough. Every now and then there would be a tickly itch in the back of his throat. It aggravated him to no extent and he only coughed when he could no longer stand it, and even when he did so the cough was soft and inaudible to his traveling companions.

Another tickle stared to form in his throat along with the irritating taste of mucus. He waited until the tickle became intense before coughing softly. After the cough, he felt the mucus still residing in his throat. He coughed again. Nothing was coming up, and the feeling of mucus in ones throat isn't something people like to live with. He coughed a little louder but not loud enough for anyone to hear. When the phlegm still wouldn't come up, he let out another cough. This time it was noticed. By Ben, of course. The man had stopped walking and was looking at Riley with a curious expression.

"Are you okay?" He asked and approached the younger man.

Riley nodded and tried to speak, but found his words gurgled and weak. He frowned and looked at Ben who had arched an eyebrow.

"Hey," Ben called out to the others. "We need to take a break."

The Germans all looked at each other and nodded reluctantly. Dennis and Leon gently lowered Adam's body to the ground while Alfred took a seat on the dirt covered ground.

"Is everything okay?" Adrian asked as he approached Ben.

Ben looked at Riley and nodded. "Yeah. Everything's fine. We just need a break."

Riley found it odd how Ben didn't mention his coughing, but he was grateful nonetheless. He plopped down on the ground and lay down on his back. He looked up at the sky and noticed that there wasn't a single cloud and the sky was a yucky, depressing grey color. He saw Ben sit down beside him, though he didn't lie down. They were silent for a little while. Riley was once again grateful that Ben wasn't talking about his cough. The last thing he wanted was for Ben to start worrying.

"How much longer do we have to walk?" Riley asked, breaking the long period of silence.

"Twenty more miles. Unless we get lucky and are able to hitchhike."

Riley sighed. "I really don't want to hitchhike. Ever watch The Hitcher? Not the one with Rutger Hauer, but the one with Sean Bean."

"Yeah, I've seen it. But that's not going to happen."

Riley scoffed. "That's what you said about Lost before we got lost in the jungle with a freakin' hatch in the ground."

"True."

Another long silence followed Ben's words. Riley looked at the sky again and saw the same grey clouds hovering over their heads. There was no doubt that it was getting late. The air had the same humid feel to it, and more insects were coming out. Riley figured they would make it to town by nightfall, unless they were eaten by mosquitoes first. Riley slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position despite his aching ribs. He glanced over at Ben and gave a slight nod, a signal to show that he was ready to move on. Ben nodded back and got to his feet. He outstretched a hand towards Riley. Riley took it and allowed the treasure hunter to haul him to his feet.

Within a few minutes, they were once again walking down the dirt road Ben and Riley had previously driven on with their rental car. A sudden realization hit Riley that they would probably have to pay for the damage caused to the car. He sighed. Things would be very difficult once they got to town.

Nineteen miles and three breaks later, Riley found that never before had he wanted to go to sleep as much as he did then. His ribs were no longer the only thing that hurt, but his feet, legs, and back as well. The constant walking was slowly taking its toll on his body. Everyone else seemed to be feeling the same. They each walked stiffly. Dennis and Leon had to switch places with Adrian and Leon for fear of dropping their dead friend. Riley glanced down at Adam's body for the first time in a while. You could barely make out the ugly gash on his throat with the surrounding darkness, but it was apparent that the flies and mosquitoes continuously buzzed around him. Riley wondered why Adam had gone through such lengths to get the treasure, other than the fact that his ancestor Alexis Basset had failed to find it. His thoughts were interrupted when Leon spoke.

"There's Teresina."

Riley looked ahead and saw the unmistakable sight of lights from various buildings. He didn't even bother to suppress his sigh of relief. Almost immediately everyone quickened their pace. Riley momentarily felt the pain in his chest go away as his attention focused on their destination ahead. It wasn't long before the small group was walking through the streets, catching strange looks from the people around them.

"We need a doctor." Alfred said.

"Adam's already dead, you idiot." Leon spoke harshly.

Alfred rolled his eyes. "For Ben and Riley genius."

Leon narrowed his eyes but said no more. Alfred looked at Ben.

"This town isn't real big, so no one even bothered to make a hospital. But there's a doctors office just down the road. You two can go and get patched up."

"Where are you going?" Ben asked.

Adrian shrugged. "First we're going to the police. Explain what happened so anybody who saw us with Adam won't report us and see us as murderers. I'll stop by the cafe to see if Ralph is hanging around somewhere. Then we'll fly back to Germany for Adam's funeral."

Ben nodded. Adrian, Alfred, Dennis, and Leon turned around and started to walk in the opposite direction. Ben called out to them.

"Hey, Adrian."

Adrian turned around and looked at Ben curiously.

Ben smiled slightly. "Thanks for everything."

Adrian grinned and gave a slight nod. "Glad to have helped."

Ben and Riley both watched as the four men strode off into the darkness. They waited for a few minutes; both wondering if they would ever see the unfortunate group again or if they had just said their final goodbyes. Riley, for one, didn't really care if he ever saw them again. They weren't exactly the nicest people to begin with. Adrian and Alfred were okay, decent enough to call an acquaintance, but they weren't the kind of people he would miss terribly.

"Let's head to the doctors." Ben finally said after another minute had passed.

Riley nodded and followed as Ben started off in the direction Adrian had instructed. Their walk was silent, both being too tired to think straight. Riley began to replay all that had happened in his mind. From his intense fear of airplanes to Adam's death. It was all too much. He shuddered when he remembered the anaconda, its hungry eyes peering at him from the waters surface. He was glad that it was dead and he and Ben were finally safe. He looked back over his shoulder in the direction of the forest. The tree line was impossible to make out in the dark, but he knew it was there. He realized that with proper equipment and knowledge of the area, the jungle might not have been such a bad thing. Once you got past the insects and the heat, it was truly a beautiful place to be. He only wished their stay had been so unfortunate.

Up ahead, only a few feet away, was the doctor's office. It didn't look like much at all. It might have been as big as a medium sized house. There was a glowing sign by the door with the word "Clinic" printed on the white exterior. Riley sighed. He hated doctors too. They always felt it was necessary to poke that thing in the back of your throat even if your throat wasn't the cause of your pain. Riley remembered when he had sprained his wrist as a kid. The doctor had bandaged his wrist, and then practically stabbed his throat with the fuzzy cutip.

A blast of cold air greeted the two as they stepped through the entrance. They both relished the feeling for a moment before continuing to the front desk. A middle aged woman sat in the chair, flipping through a magazine while tapping her pen against the desk. She looked up when she heard them approach. Her eyes widened at the sight of them.

"What can I do you for?" She asked politely as she looked them up and down, her eyes lingering for a moment on Ben's shoulder.

Ben raised his eyebrows. "We ran into some trouble in the jungle. We, uh, we need some help."

The lady nodded. "Follow me."

She turned on her heel and began walking down a white hallway, her heels making a loud clicking noise. She stopped beside a room and waited for them to enter. They both took a seat in two of the three chairs in the room.

"Dr. Phillips will be with you shortly." The receptionist gave them another odd look before leaving and shutting the door behind her.

Riley looked around the dull room with a sigh. He hated the little room. They always transferred someone from the big waiting room to the little waiting room. It made no sense to him. The little room was so...little, and boring. Luckily, it wasn't long before the doctor walked in with a peculiar expression.

"Hello," he greeted formally. "I'm Dr. Phillips." He looked at them both for the longest time. Riley could only imagine what they looked like. Dr. Phillips smiled a little. "I'm not even going to bother in asking what's wrong as it is clearly evident that you two need some medical attention pronto."

Riley couldn't help but smile slightly. Most doctors would be oblivious to such things, ignoring the gaping bullet hole in your shoulder or the pale skin and would kindly ask what was wrong, as if the blood oozing out of the patient wasn't enough.

Dr. Phillips checked Ben out first, prodding around his shoulder and pushing on the wound. Riley felt uncomfortable every time Ben either gasped in pain or squeezed his eyes shut. He wiggled uncomfortably in his seat until the doctor was finished and had begun wrapping a clean bandage around it.

"I fear our resources are very limited here." Dr. Phillips said when he finished. "But I can give you some medicine to lessen the pain. But I strongly suggest you get to an actual hospital as soon as you get home. There you can receive the proper treatment." He turned to face Riley. "Now, for you." He looked Riley up and down for a moment. "I don't see any severe injuries aside from a few scratches."

Riley shrugged. "An anaconda decided to give me a hug. My ribs are killing me."

"Did it bite you at all?" Dr. Phillips asked as he began to poke at Riley's chest.

"No." Riley winced as the doctor poked a particularly sore spot. It took a few minutes, but finally the doctor was able to make a statement.

"Nothing's broken or cracked. But you do have some serious bruising. You're lucky. Anacondas are known to crush their victims to death before swallowing them whole."

Riley and Ben both shuddered at the though. Dr. Phillips continued. "You'll be sore for a long time, and all I can do for you is wrap some bandages around your chest."

Riley nodded and allowed the medical expert to carefully wrap his ribs with the same cloth he had used for Ben's shoulder. When he was done, he stepped back and smiled.

"Do you have any idea what you two look like?" He asked, chuckling softly.

Ben and Riley both shook their head. Dr. Phillips laughed and motioned for them to follow him out of the room. Riley and Ben obeyed and soon found themselves standing in front of a hallway mirror.

Ben was the first to laugh. His hair was sticking up in every place imaginable and had dirt smeared all over his face. His clothes reeked of sweat and dirt as well as anaconda. His shirt was ripped in several places and was basically soaked with blood and sweat.

Riley wasn't any different. His hair was wet and caked with dirt and grime and stuck up in different places. His face had several dirty smudges on them. His clothes were tattered and soaked from the previous rain.

Ben and Riley both burst into a fit of hysterical laughter, pointing out small things on each other such as the small twig that was stuck in Ben's hair or the mud covered shoe of Riley. They leaned on the wall in order to keep themselves upright. It was the first genuine laugh they had shared in what felt like years.

The man behind the hotel desk wasn't at all pleased to see Ben and Riley covered from head to toe with dirt and blood. He wouldn't allow them to their room until they had showered and changed into some clean clothes. Even then he was hesitant of letting them go. But eventually he did, after much persuasion from Ben.

Their hotel room looked no different than before. Suitcases and bags were in the same position they had left them in. Riley and Ben looked at each other and chuckled softly.

"Not quite home, but it'll have to do." Ben said as he flopped down onto his bed, his body sinking into the soft mattress.

"I didn't realize how tired I was…." Riley mumbled from his own bed.

Ben knew what he meant. "Same here."

Simultaneously, they both pulled the covers back and crawled into bed. Within minutes, they were both sound asleep and finding comfort in each others presence.

Sorry if any of you were expecting something huge to happen. I hate to disappoint. But there will be a huge thing happening in the next chapter, which is sadly the last chapter. But it's a good thing. :) You'll like it, hopefully.

Just to update anyone who's interested…the other National Treasure fanfiction I'm writing is coming alone very nicely. I'm very pleased with it. And I guarantee it'll be much better than this one. And far more exciting to read. There's about 6 or 7 new characters in it. And I'm pretty sure you're going to enjoy two of them. I'm proud of this next project.

But yeah, Star Wars is my new love. I'm a total geek. And I've got all sorts of fanfic ideas for the fandom. So before the next NT fic comes along, I might post a few Star Wars oneshots or something – or a multi chapter. I'm not really sure yet. There are so many ideas buzzing around in my head….

But I thought I'd let you guys know about possible future Star Wars fics, just in case you're subscribed to me. :)