Disclaimer and other information in Prologue.

Chapter Five

" Marguerite! Dear God! Marguerite!" Roxton yelled in surprise and disbelief. Only moments ago he had dosed off, using the bedside as a pillow when he had felt something brushing against his hair. As if in a dream he had looked up to see a weak smile on his beloved's face, her gray eyes staring straight back into his own hazel ones.

The others came running into the room; each expecting the worst and nearly collapsing with relief when they saw Marguerite very much alive and lucid and surrounded in a crushing embrace from Roxton. " My God!" Challenger exclaimed happily, moving over to the bedside to check the woman's pulse once again. " Amazing!" he declared offering an embrace of his own that was soon added to by Veronica and Ned.

" What happened?" Marguerite said softly; her throat sore from disuse.

" You got yourself in another fine mess, Marguerite." Roxton said happily.

" What?"

" I'll tell you about it later." He promised with a conspiratorial wink at the others.

" We'd thought you'd really done it this time." Malone said.

" Welcome back." Veronica added softly.

" Well, I should take an early nap more often. Wait- how did we get back to the tree house?" Marguerite inquired, thoroughly confused. Her only response was a collection of laughter from the others.

" I think I missed the joke." She whispered to Roxton who was standing beside her, gripping her hand firmly.

" Oh it was no joke, Marguerite, believe me." He said cryptically with a smile he reserved just for her benefit.

" As much as I hate to say it; I really think that Marguerite should get some rest. She still isn't completely recovered I would say." Challenger said with caution.

" Rest? You're actually suggesting that I sleep more, George? Well I don't know what I did this time but I think I could get used to this." She said, downplaying the nervousness that she felt over the obvious gap in her memory.

Roxton could sense her unease and gave her hand a squeeze for reassurance. " I think Challenger's right. We want a full recovery here and fast."

The others took that as their cue to leave the couple alone and said their goodnights; a heavy burden lifted from their minds.

" John, what really happened?" Marguerite whispered anxiously as soon as the others had left the room.

After a moment of debate whether to recount the story or not, Roxton looked into Marguerite's searching eyes and decided that it was better to put her mind at ease. " You were bitten by a very poisonous insect; the one and the same that you released from Challenger's lab."

Marguerite put a hand to her cheek where the now absent bite had once been.

" Yes, that bite." Roxton paused, taking a deep shuddering breath, the emotion that he had so carefully repressed for the last few weeks coming unfailingly to the surface now that the immediate danger had passed. " We almost lost you, Marguerite. I thought I had lost you."

"John-"

" I don't know what I would have done without you."

" You don't have to worry about that, John. I'm here." Marguerite said, touching her hand to his face.

" That you are." He replied with smile, leaning over to kiss her gently before leaving her to slip into a satisfied, and most importantly ending, sleep.

Slipping back into her room later Roxton almost thought it had all been a wonderful dream until he saw his heiress smile in her sleep at some pleasant dream that was comforting her in sleep. Smiling he sat down on the cot and for the first time in a long time slipped into his own dreamland.