6/6


Roxton, confused by her seemingly sudden anger, picked up the rifle and sighed while Marguerite, furious at herself for her moment of weakness, stalked out of the grotto and into the open field. She paid little attention to her surroundings, intent only on putting as much distance as possible between herself and the cave.

John neared the opening and watched as she walked out. Picking up his pace, he grabbed her arm and yanked her back into the cave. "Are you out of your mind? He cried, ignoring her struggles. "You didn't even *look* to see if the Raptor had returned! Do you want to get yourself killed?"

Marguerite scowled, finally wrenching her arm from his bruising grip. "I'm a big girl; I don't need "the great white hunter" to follow my every move!" She glared up at him, waiting for him to deny her assertion.

One look at her stubborn visage rocketed Roxton's temper to previous unheard of heights. "You may have paid for this damned expedition, but it's my job to make sure that everyone gets home in one piece! And that, Miss Krux, includes you! So you'd better get used to it!"

"Fine, be a damned control freak. Go on, have a look -- I'm sure the bloody dinosaur is long gone." The hunter took in a quick breath, stifling frustration and murderous intent, then slung the rifle off his shoulder and eased through the opening, careful not to draw any undue attention.

A loud roar greeted him and, stunned by the massive size of the beast, he paused, mouth agape. Regaining his senses, Roxton back-peddled quickly, pushing Marguerite back into the cave. "No, my dear, I don't think you want to go out there right now."

Marguerite tossed him a sullen look and jerked off her hat. "You're right as always," she muttered bitterly. "Really, Lord Roxton, how do you do it? How do you manage to be so bloody perfect *all* the time?"

The tone in her voice rolled off him, easily ignored, but the pain he finally read in those damnably fey eyes did not. "Alright, Marguerite, out with it! What the hell happened in that cave that's got you so wound up?"

Flashing a false smile, she ran a hand through her unruly curls and answered, "Oh, nothing much. Just got a glimpse into my soul, that's all."

Roxton looked up at the inscription above. "The warning?"

"Seems it serves a purpose after all," Marguerite grimaced, sliding down the rock face to sit on the ground with a huff.

The hunter knelt in front of her and tipped her chin up so that she was forced to meet his eyes. "Tell me," he murmured the concern evident in his voice.

Undone by the genuine emotion in his gaze, Marguerite haltingly began to describe the image and the words the voice had spoken. She couldn't, however, reveal the child's advice, couldn't voice the feelings that existed between them, even though they just might save her from herself.

When she had finished, Roxton looked away and cursed softly. He pulled her into his arms and whispered soothing words against her temple. "That image may have been who you were, but its not the Marguerite Krux that I know." 'And love,' he mentally added.

Blinking back tears, she clung to him, savoring the feel of his arms around her. "Roxton, there are so many things about me that you don't know -- that I don't want you to know."

He pulled back a little and, brow furrowed, asked, "What? Are you afraid I'll turn tail and run?" Seeing her suddenly stricken face, he sobered and grasped her hands to his chest. "My dear, I may not have been involved in the War, but
I do know that there are certain atrocities that are reserved for just that time. There is no easy way to draw a line to separate the right and the righteous in battle."

He paused and searched her eyes. "Summerlee told me what he said. How he had left his old self behind when he came here. Whether you know it or not, you've done the same. It's a different world and no one here begrudges you a clean slate."

Marguerite glanced away, unable to absorb the raw honesty in his eyes. Roxton took advantage of his unobstructed to view to fully take in the woman before him. "Do you really want to know what I see when I look at you?"

Her gaze quickly returned to his, uncertainty warring with sadness in her eyes. He smiled tenderly at her wary expression and explained, "I see a beautiful woman who knows and speaks her own mind, a woman who is fiercely independent and yet so desperately wants the love and approval of another. She is not weak by any stretch of the imagination, and when she does give her heart fully, that man will be the luckiest son of a bitch in the world."

Struck by his estimation of her, she smiled up at him, inordinately pleased by his words. As the moment drew out, she knew they had passed a hurdle, but she couldn't resist one last dig. She found her voice and, eyes gleaming with soft satisfaction, cheekily proposed, "And would you like to be that man, Lord Roxton?"

Roxton's lips spread into a wide smile. "Nothing would give me more pleasure, Miss Krux."



***

"For now, we see through a glass, darkly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I have been fully known. But now abide faith, hope and love, these three, but the greatest of these is love."
-- 1 Corinthians 13:12-13