Summary:

Settling in for the night, MacGregor presses Lily for details about Frank and what happened on the boat while he was gone. Frank makes a discovery of his own.

Notes:

Thank you all for reading.

This story has a mind of its own. As I start to write, I find myself talking out loud - thinking about what conversations would sound like between the characters.

I hope this chapter makes sense - it is sort of an interlude before the trio get busy trying to make it home.

Soundtrack suggestion: Track 12 - Encantado

Comments welcome.

Chapter 4: Truth by Fire

The adrenaline of the last few hours begin to dissipate and the reality of their current situation was beginning to set it. The moonlight had long since disappeared, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to see their surroundings. It was decided that they would explore how to get out of the cave in the morning as well as take stock of what they could salvage of La Quila to build some sort of raft to float down the river.

Frank worked on getting a fire going to keep them warm and to provide a little light, while Lily was able to find a few full canteens of water dropped by the German soldiers. MacGregor surprised even himself, and managed to spear a large fish caught in what remained of the river water at the mouth of the cave. Proxima found a fish on her own as well - but promptly ate it.

MacGregor made a face at the large cat. "Rude," he said, as Proxima licked her lips.

Fish cleaned and cooked, the trio sat around their makeshift camp eating MacGregor's catch.

"How on earth are we going to get back to Porto Velho?" asked MacGregor in between bites.

Frank sighed, "Well, from what I saw, half the boat is on this side of the caved-in wall, and the other half is not - hopefully enough of it survived on the other side for us to build a raft."

Frank started mentally listing in his head all the items he would need to make that happen. Exhaustion was setting in, and he felt more tired than usual. Lily could tell his energy was waning. If he was half as tired as she was, then he must be ready to pass out. Lily reached for the canteen near her foot- and winced, clutching her side. She tried to be nonchalant about it, hoping no one noticed.

Frank noticed. "What was that all about - you ok?" he asked, concern in his voice.

Lily waved a hand dismissively at him. "It's nothing, I'm fine."

"That's not nothing, Pants. I saw your face. Are you hurt?"

"No - no…just a little bruise is all. Nothing of concern." She smiled, a bit too largely and Frank wasn't convinced.

Frank raised his eyebrows in fake acceptance of her little lie. "Oh - well then have some water…" He grabbed an empty canteen and tossed it in her direction.

Instinctively, Lily reached for the container, but immediately hissed in discomfort, yanking her right hand back towards her side.

"Uh-huh…you look fine." Frank wiped his hands on his pants and stood up to get a closer look. "Stand up." He instructed her.

"Really, Frank, is this necessary?" She asks, having to look up it him as he towered over her, slightly annoyed at the attention.

"Lily, just let the man help. Besides, you can't expect me to be of any use building rafts and such - I am the brains, and you two the braun of this operation." MacGregor smiled in her direction, hoping she would just let Frank help her.

"Fine - if it will make you both feel better." Lily relented, standing up slowly. She untucked her shirt in a huff, and lifted it slightly. She indicated to her side, just below her chest. The white undergarment she wore was was scuffed and torn slightly.

"It's just a bit tender here-" Frank reached out a finger to confirm where she was pointing. "OW! FRANK!"

Frank recoiled his hand quickly, "I hardly touched you!"

"Well, that hurt…"

"You're being dramatic." He said sternly. Lily glared at him, and he brought his eyes back to her side. "You may have bruised a rib from falling in the tree." Frank's stomach churned at the memory - The branch Lily was perched on broke, sending her plunging to the water below. His heart leapt to his throat as she fell, but grateful that the tree offered her another limb to latch onto.

Frank ran his hand gently along the area where the fabric was torn. He pressed gingerly at her back, then closer towards her abdomen, watching her reaction for any signs of pain. She winced at the second touch, but not the first.

As his hand settled on her back, his palm pressing into her bare skin where the fabric was torn, its warmth and size did not go unnoticed. Lily felt herself lean in to the touch.

"Take a breath for me…" He instructed.

Lily complied, and was able to take a deep breath with only a little discomfort. Frank took that as a good sign.

Her reluctance to be looked after dissolving slightly, she let Frank continue his exam. She was not used to someone looking after her. She learned early on to take care of herself and MacGregor; to not depend on others to do things for you. It was an unfortunate and burdensome mindset to have at times - but it worked well for them.

Frank had a similar outlook - but it meant survival in a jungle. Keep to yourself. Don't form attachments. Don't draw attention. Look out for number one - Frank Wolff. It worked well -

Until now.

After choosing to return to the land of the living, he knew things would never be the same. As he examined Lily, he couldn't help but feel protective over her. He wasn't sure how to explain it - there was so much still left unsaid between them. Another time for another conversation, he thought.

Although they had shared an affectionate kiss nearly an hour ago, neither Frank nor Lily had taken the time to process all that lies between them. Instead they fell back into their comfortable banter they had come to know so well. But one thing was for certain, what was once rare physical contact between them, was now becoming more and more frequent - not that either one was complaining.

Frank kept his hand on her back a moment longer than he intended - on purpose perhaps. He caught her eyes and they shared a brief moment. MacGregor cleared his throat.

"You, uh - should be fine. Just find a comfortable position to sleep in tonight and don't over-extend your arm. You'll be brand new in a day or so." Frank smiled at her warmly, and returned to where he was sitting.

Lily promptly pulled her down her shirt, and shot MacGregor a look as he sat smirking at her.

xxxx

An hour later, MacGregor and Lily sat by the now diminishing firelight. Frank had stepped away to gather enough firewood to last them through the night.

"So you're telling me…that Frank was one of those conquistadors trying to murder us," MacGregor asked incredulously. Lily poked at the fire and sparks flew into the air.

"Yes - well no. He was a hero of sorts. He saved the life of the chief's daughter when Aguirre attacked them. He isn't anything like them. That is why the chief saved his life - but he was still cursed like the others…" Lily had spent the last thirty minutes trying to catch MacGregor up on the details of Frank's past - and Lily was loosing her battle with his line of questioning as well as the tiredness in her bones.

Proxima was curled up at MacGregor's side, snoring.

"Right right. I get all that…That madman in the submarine actually gave me quite a thorough summary of the conquistadors and the curse…the petal can lift the curse…the person can choose to rest or finish their current life…the scary men wanted the petals so they could choose to live or die….blah blah…" MacGregor rambled on.

Then, his face turned from that of understanding, into a questioning expression. "But… when you gave Frank your petal… we walked away," he paused, then looked at his sister, "…did he tell you he wasn't going to …live, if given the choice? Is that why we didn't stay? You thought he was gone?"

Lily felt a pang of sadness at the thought. "Well…yes." She said softly. "He had lived four lifetimes. He was ready to rest…" Lily finished, repeating Frank's words he had said to her on the boat just the other night.

"Oh." MacGregor nodded in understanding, feeling the heartbreak in her words. But he brightened his demeanor quickly as he retold the ending as he knew it. "BUT!" he said, lifting his hand and pointing it in the air triumphantly, "…he clearly changed his mind!" he finished, smiling big.

Lily smiled with him. "Yes, he most certainly did." Lily hoped this is where the questions would end. No such luck.

MacGregor put his hands behind his head and leaned back into the broken tree branch he was sitting in front of. "I wonder what changed his mind…" He asked suggestively, a smirk playing at his lips.

Lily's face flushed. "Don't you even go there, MacGregor!" Lily warned, waving the glowing tip of her stick at him.

He held his hands up defensively, "I'm just curious…" he lowered his voice, looking around for Frank before he continued, "…what exactly happened between the two of you while I was stuck in that metal tube with a madman?"

"Absolutely NOTHING!" Lily said in a shouted whisper.

MacGregor raised his eyebrows, clearly not believing her. "That smooch you two shared earlier says otherwise..." He shot back.

Lily sighed, and explained, "We talked. That's it. He told me about his past - about what he had done over the past three hundred years…about how, after trapping the soldiers in the cave, he built La Quila…He revealed that HE was actually Aguirre's cartographer, and the one who drew Father's map…" Lily took a breath while MacGregor listened aptly.

"He even taught me to drive the boat." She stated simply. Leaving out the part where it was the first time she felt the heat of his body so close to her that it made her uneasy, but in a good way. Or the part when he told her he wanted to rest - and how her heart ached at the thought that he wouldn't be on this earth any more. How in that moment, that awareness made her question her own feelings towards him.

"Mhmm…" MacGregor hummed. "And then at La Luna Rota… Frank said you actually got in the water?" He asked, astonishment written across his face.

"I did - but never again - he nearly let me drown." She said ardently.

"I told you - there were piranhas…lots of them." Frank's voice cut into the conversation, causing Lily to startle at his sudden reappearance.

MacGregor jumped as Frank dropped the firewood in a pile next to him, and then sat down between the siblings.

"Well in any case - it was not the most pleasant experience." Lily shivered at the thought of being under the water.

"Well, I thought there was a moment or …two…worth remembering." He smiled knowingly at her, referring to him sharing his breath with her under the water. He wouldn't truly call it a kiss, but it did feel quite natural to have her pull him to her in need…He winked at her. She glared back.

"Right, well - I still got pulled out of the water unconscious."

His mouth went dry at the memory of seeing her lying unresponsive inside the stone puzzle box . He remembered how his heart raced in fear and his stomach felt like someone had punched him in the gut when she didn't wake up right away. Then she did - and he still got punched.

"But alls well that ends well…" MacGregor concluded. "Still doesn't explain why Frank changed his mind…" he mumbled under his breath, then yawned.

Frank and Lily looked at MacGregor, then back at each other. In their heads, they both played back their final conversation before Prince Joachim showed up.

The joy of turning water to stone was adrenaline-inducing, and it emboldened Lily to offer Frank his chance to come home to England with her… teach him to drive her motorcar; to be his "Skippy". She felt hopeful that this moment may have changed his mind…but to no avail.

No motor car for me after this…

…You have your world to go back to…

It could be yours too…

…It could be that one person is world enough…

Lily surprised herself at how impassioned her words sounded and felt as she spoke them - trying to convince Frank to stay…stay on this earth…to live.

The way she had repeated his words back to him - full of meaning and heartfelt, he realized that in that moment, she was offering him his life back. Not one destined to stay trapped in the Amazon for lifetimes to come - but one that would start anew…and included her…if he wanted it.

The look in her eyes told her how genuine she was. He did want it.

The heaviness of the moment was lifted as MacGregor began to snore.

"Well I would agree that it did end pretty well." Frank smiled at Lily. She returned the gesture in kind, the firelight dancing across her features making his chest warm.

He cleared his throat. "I think it's time for us to get some rest as well." Frank stood up and pulled out a few things beside him.

Frank laid out a burlap sack and a blanket he had recovered from the boat's wreckage. He then rolled up one of MacGregor's dinner jackets he found into a pillow of sorts.

"Up you go…" He said, and offered Lily his hand.

She looked at his hand then down at the makeshift bed.

"Um…"

He noticed the unsure look on her face. "Come on, let me help you get settled. You shouldn't be moving around too much - your body needs to heal." Frank explained, and this time reached out to take her hand.

Lily let him ease her onto the ground, careful not to agitate her injury.

"Thank you, Frank." She said, as she laid her head onto her "pillow".

"You're welcome." He said warmly.

She wanted to say more, wanted to tell him how happy she was that he chose to live… but she couldn't keep the sleep from washing over her. Before she could form another thought, Lily was fast asleep.

xxxx

When he left the siblings alone to search for some wood for the fire, he didn't intend to gather much else. After all, there was barely any light to see anything near the wreckage.

So when he came upon a satchel and some burlap, he was encouraged to poke around the same area to see if anything else was nearby.

He picked up a plank of wood, and he found one of his maps of the river. Lily's map to be precise. He picked it up, studying it as best he could in the dim light. He remembers this one… it was drawn when he had picked up a few new clues about the whereabouts of the tree. He remember adding some additional details to this map that he would later omit from others.

He folded it gingerly, and placed it in a satchel.

One of MacGregor's trunks was upside down and he kicked it over with his foot. Out fell a neatly folded blanket. Frank grabbed it and a leather-bound book came tumbling out. He recognized it as Lily's sketchbook. He placed it in his satchel along with one of MacGregor's dinner jackets poking out from the trunk.

Frank sighs, and removes his Skipper cap, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his forearm. He looks over the wreckage. La Quila…gracías mi buena niña.

Hopefully when the sun rises tomorrow, it will reveal that there is a way out of this cave and the remainder of the wreckage on the open side of the wall is enough to get them…somewhere.

Frank collected some dry wood and made his way back to the campfire.

xxxx