Chapter 8: Someone To Lean On

June 28, 1991 - Friday

Rob was hovering around the camp, waiting for Alan to come back from the field. He had managed to convince himself that he needed to talk Alan into giving Ellie a chance. He was sure he could persuade him into placing Kathryn's memory behind him. He would just have to be very clever and cautious with his word choice.

As he was running a few sample sentences through his head, he spotted Alan walking into a clearing, right toward him. He decided to wait right where he was, but then couldn't just stand there any longer. He caught up to Alan.

"You've got to let her go," he spit out when he was close enough for Alan to hear him.

It wasn't quite the clever and cautious remark that he was trying for, but it was too late to fix it now.

"Who?" Alan asked, completely caught off guard.

"Kathryn," Rob said, as if he should have already known that.

"What are you talking about?" Alan questioned, slightly irritated.

"Think about it, Alan. Kathryn was a great woman and the perfect match for you. She really was. But she's gone now."

"I know, Rob," Alan said, then he angrily added, "You don't think I know that?"

Alan's emotions almost always shifted into anger where Kathryn was concerned. He had never gotten over losing her. Rob didn't back down, though. Alan was one of his closest friends, so he needed to tell him what was on his mind.

"And she's not coming back."

Alan didn't respond that time. Rob could tell he was thinking, the anger that had flashed through his eyes seconds ago already dissipating.

"I knew Kathryn, too, you know. And I think she would want you to be happy. She's up there somewhere," Rob said pointing to the sky, "and she's probably sad to see you all alone, with no one to care for."

Alan's defensive demeanor changed. "I know what you're getting at."

"Do you?"

"Yes, Rob."

"Well, why don't you go out with her then? She's perfect for you and it's obvious to me that she likes you."

"It's obvious?"

"Yes, Alan. Painfully obvious. Who knows why she didn't fall for me, but Ellie is definitely stuck on you, my friend."

"I'll admit that she's great," Alan said, smiling.

"You see? She's great. Give her a chance to be in your life."

"I already have."

Rob was speechless . . . but only for a moment.

"What? How? When? Where the hell was I?"

Alan laughed, but then he turned serious. "Ellie and I have been getting closer. But it's hard for me to continue my life without feeling guilty about Kathryn. I loved her so much."

Alan needed a friend right now, and not the smart-ass type. Rob became totally serious. "Alan, she loved you, too. She would want you to be happy."

"You're repeating yourself now, mate," Alan said, lightening up the mood a bit.

"I'll keep on repeating myself until it gets pounded into your head," Rob said. He pointed at Alan, "Let Kathryn go and start over. You deserve to be happy."

"Okay, it's finally sinking in a little bit," Alan admitted.

"Good," Rob said, and then he looked toward some of the tents nearby, "I'm going for a beer. Wanna join me?"

"No, I think I'll turn in for the night, Rob."

"Your loss."

Alan laughed and headed into the trailer. Ellie was inside, waiting without anyone realizing she was there. She had been parking her car in a different place, so that people didn't get suspicious. She knew that Alan didn't care about who knew, as they had already talked about it, but she wasn't ready to have his life put under a microscope by the instructors, students, and volunteers.

"I'm going to have to disagree on the whole "my loss" thing," Alan said to himself as he went inside.

June 29, 1991 - Saturday

It wasn't even light outside yet, but Alan was already quietly loading his pickup truck. He and Ellie were throwing things into the back for their little spur of the moment camping trip. Alan had suggested it the night before, after getting back from talking to Rob. Ellie had said yes almost immediately and so they were adding last minute items that might be useful on the trip.

Alan exited the trailer with an armful of blankets and threw them in the back. They landed on top of the cooler that he had secretly plugged in before Ellie had even woken up. When the timing was right, he would be prepared with a little romance. He smiled to himself as he approached the driver's door.

"Did you find Rob?" Ellie asked.

"No, he's late . . . again. I'm going to have to start writing him up or something. Anyway, I found Dr. Harper, so I let him know I was going to be away."

"Oh, good. That way no one will worry."

"I don't think anyone would really miss me."

"I don't think you know your own crew then."

"Okay, are we ready?" Alan asked, changing the subject.

"Got everything?" Ellie asked, as he slid into the driver's seat.

"Yep. You. Me. That's all we really needed anyway, you know," he said, smiling.

Ellie laughed and moved closer to him. He started the truck and they began to drive towards another world away from prehistory.

Rob couldn't find Alan anywhere. He had looked in all of the trailers, most of the teepee's, and he had even tried the nearest bar. He came across Harper on his trip back to the dig site.

"Dr. Harper, how do you do, sir."

"I'm well, young Tandy. How are you this delightful morning?"

Rob had always liked to talk proper with the much older Harper. It was entertaining for him, for some reason.

"Well, I was wondering if you would have the coordinates of a certain Dr. Grant."

"Why yes, I do, young man."

"Well, would you care to dispense your knowledge with the remainder of the world, doctor?"

Harper laughed slightly.

"Sure. He's on leave. He took the weekend off."

"He did what?"

"He told me he was in need of some down time."

"He told . . . pardon me for saying . . . you?"

"I was the only one around this morning," Harper said, implying that Rob was late again.

"Well . . . I . . . was . . . are you sure he said that?

"Yes, I'm quite sure."

"He hasn't taken a weekend off in over two years."

"Well, everyone has a breaking point, I suppose."

"Did he go alone?"

"I believe the beautiful Ms. Sattler was accompanying him."

"Ahhh. That explains a lot. Thanks for your time, old chap."

"Good day, Mr. Tandy."

Rob walked away from Harper and was very pleased with himself. Obviously, that little talk he had with Alan helped greatly.

"Just add Rob, the matchmaker to my extensive list of titles," he whispered to himself, smiling.

The view was beyond beautiful. Ellie stood at the base of the fresh water creek, taking deep breaths of air. She looked behind her to see how far Alan had gotten with the tent. He had it set-up already, which amazed her for some reason. She walked toward him, playfully smiling as she approached him.

"Very impressive. You did that a lot quicker than I would have guessed."

He had his back to her, adjusting one of the poles.

"I'm one of those great mountain men you read about in novels," he said, turning to look at her.

"Oh, the last of your breed, I'm sure," she said, teasing him.

He let go of the tent and gently took her arm, pulling her toward him. He didn't say a word. He simply kissed her. They stood there in the woods for a few minutes, just being romantic. He looked out toward the creek.

"There's a nice little cozy diner on the other side of the creek, where I thought we might eat breakfast."

"Sounds delightful," she said, staring into his blue eyes.

"There's a bridge about a quarter mile downstream that we could use to cross over."

She nodded. He proceeded.

"Or we can just cross here," he added, gesturing toward the creek.

She looked where he was gesturing. It didn't look very deep, which was promising. And there was an abundant amount of rocks, that made a makeshift path across to the other side.

"Right here is fine with me," she said looking at the creek.

"I was joking," he said.

She focused on him again.

"It could be adventurous," she offered.

He smiled.

"Not to mention, possibly a little wet."

"What, are you some sort of baby?"

"No," he answered quickly, and then he added, "Besides, I'll have you to fall on in case I slip and/or slide."

She laughed and began to walk toward the creek. She was wearing khaki shorts and a white short sleeved shirt, so she was prepared. Alan had on a white short sleeved button down shirt and a pair of dark grey pants. He wasn't quite prepared for the excursion over the creek, but he followed her. They arrived at the beginning of the makeshift path and Ellie looked back at him.

"Here goes nothing," she said, shrugging her shoulders.

She stepped onto the closest large stone and balanced on it. Alan was right behind her with his hands out, ready to catch her in case she began to fall backwards. She didn't. She continued flawlessly over a half dozen rocks, before she turned around to see if he was coming. He hadn't moved from the side of the creek.

"Coming?"

"Yeah."

"What are you waiting for?"

"Nothing."

She laughed, and then watched as he stepped onto that same first stone that she had used.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" she teased.

He was focusing on the rocks below. When she spoke to him, he looked up and slightly lost his balance. His right foot slipped a little, causing him to sway to the right. Then he swayed to the left and caught his balance. After he was certain that he was stable, he looked up at her again.

"Piece of cake," he said, smiling.

She nodded and waited for him to catch up to her. She giggled as he continued to slightly stumble as he crossed the various sized rocks. He managed to make it there without much trouble. She reached out her hand and he took it.

"How is it that you're so good at this?" he asked.

"I'm from Georgia. We've got a lot of little creeks like this."

"Oh, I see."

Ellie looked around. They were about half way across.

"Ready to keep going?"

"Yeah, okay," he said reluctantly.

She laughed at him.

"Didn't they have creeks in Australia?"

"Yeah, but that was a long time ago."

She shook her head and began to figure the best way to get across. She still had his hand.

"Come on," she said, pulling him forward.

He followed behind her, as the choice was taken away from him. They had made it almost all the way across, when Ellie stepped onto a slippery stone and lost her footing, slipping backwards. Alan caught her and put his hands around her waist, as he himself struggled to stay still.

"Whoa. Sorry about that," she said, glancing up at him.

"It was my pleasure," he said, smiling.

She straightened back out, causing both of them to lean to the left a little. Alan lost his balance again, forcing him to let go of Ellie. He swung his arms out in an attempt to balance and ended up turning around on several rocks before he finally balanced. He was laughing pretty hard and so was Ellie. She reached out for him and they were able to balance each other. They were only about four rocks or so from the edge and Alan noticed that there was a large tree on that side, growing out and over the creek. He grabbed one of the branches and used it for balance. Ellie let him go past her and when he was in front of her, she grabbed onto his shirt and held onto it until he got them to the shore line.

"Phew, made it," he sighed.

"Yep. And we managed to stay fairly dry, too," Ellie added.

"Now I'm really hungry."

"Yeah, me, too."

They made their way from the creek and found the little diner. It was a very nice little place and Ellie found the food to be excellent. On the walk back, they had decided to use the bridge to go across the creek this time. As they were crossing the bridge, Ellie took in the beautiful surroundings again.

"So, do you have anything planned?"

"Not really. I have to admit that I don't usually take time off to enjoy the beauty of this state. I'm a workaholic."

"I would have never guessed that one," Ellie joked.

"It is pretty sad, isn't it?"

"No, I was just teasing you. I don't find anything wrong with working all of the time if that's what you want to do."

"Thanks, but I'm not sure if that's what I want to do."

They reached their side of the creek and began to walk toward their small camp. They didn't talk for a little while.

"I wonder what Rob is doing right now?" Alan wondered aloud, breaking the silence.

"Probably wondering where you are."

Alan laughed and reached for her hand, as they walked through the wooded trail.

"You're probably absolutely right."

Ellie was very happy at the moment. She was walking through the quiet and still woods, on a beautiful little scenic trail, with a very nice and good-looking man. Alan was everything she had always wanted in a man and he even shared her same interest for prehistory. As they continued to walk, holding hands, she began to imagine having a family with this man. She didn't bring any of this up to Alan though. Men didn't usually like to talk about those sorts of things.

They spent the rest of the daylight hours walking, fishing, and making small talk. Neither of them really brought up anything important. They simply enjoyed the peaceful day . . . together.

Night was slowly approaching. Ellie watched as he started a fire. The sun was just about down now and it was getting just a little cold outside. She continued to watch him fiddle with the fire until there was a significant flame. He glanced her way, as he was kneeling next to the fire. She smiled at him.

"A fire was just the perfect thing we needed," she said, as she wrapped her arms around her shoulders. She had changed into pants, but she was still wearing that short sleeved shirt, so she was a little chilled.

"That's me. Always thinking ahead," he said pointing to his forehead.

Still smiling, she walked over to the fire and sat down on a log that Alan had put there. He sat on a log across from her, watching her look all around.

"Something wrong?" he asked, hoping the answer would be no.

"No. I was just thinking about how cozy this is."

Alan suddenly stood up, snapping his fingers.

"Be right back. I forgot something. It's in the truck."

Ellie watched him hurry off into the darkness. She heard him open a door or something, and then moments later it closed. She guessed it was the toolbox in the truck bed. A few minutes after that, Alan reappeared with something in his hand. As he got closer to the light of the fire, she could see what he was carrying. A bottle of champagne, two glasses and a single rose. He handed the rose to her and then sat down and began to open the champagne bottle.

"You can be so romantic," she said, clearly touched by his thoughtfulness.

A loud "pop" filled the air as the champagne gently overflowed. He poured two glasses about half full each, and then handed her one. She took it and noticed he was laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"As I was coming back from the truck, I was thinking about . . . how romantic and corny I've become."

"Well, I for one approve of this sappy side of you."

Alan smiled and took a sip of champagne.

"Thank you," he said.

"But . . . you know . . . it's really not necessary."

"Well, I think it is."

Ellie laughed.

"You know, we're doing this whole dating thing backwards," she observed.

Alan joined in her laughter. He didn't mind how the relationship was progressing. It was different than most of his others, but it felt right. He was developing very strong feelings toward this woman and was beginning to think of themselves as a couple. It was then that it dawned on him that he didn't know all that much about Ellie Sattler.

"For the sake of continuing our backward start, let's get to know each other a little better now," he suggested.

"That would be nice," she said. And then she paused, "You go first."

He placed the champagne glass on the ground and looked at her.

"What do you want to know?"

Ellie didn't hesitate with the first question.

"How old are you?"

"33. You?"

"Don't you already have that information somewhere in a filing cabinet?"

"Yeah, but I never looked."

"Well, I'm 24."

"Wow, that's impressive that you're so far into the program already."

"Thanks."

"So, any brothers or sisters?" Alan asked.

"Nope. You?"

"No. I have a cousin that was like a brother to me growing up, but no real siblings."

"What's his name?"

"Ricky. Well, now he goes by Richard. He lives in Chicago."

"So, how long did you live in Australia?"

"About half my life. I moved here, on my own, when I was 18 years old. I wanted to be a paleontologist and I wanted to go to school in the states."

"You came here all alone, with no family support?"

"I was supported by my parents. They funded the entire thing. I owe a lot to them."

"They sound like wonderful people."

"They are," Alan said, thinking about them for a moment. "What are your parents like?"

"Well, I only know one of my parents. My mother. Patricia. My father passed away when I was 3 years old."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Ellie."

"Oh, it's okay. I hardly remember him," she said, and after a moment of silence, "Well, that's not totally true. I remember certain images of him. I even remember some of the things that he said to me."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Like I remember him sitting on this old black armchair all the time. I know he worked during the day, but whenever I think of him, I think of him sitting in that old black armchair watching television. And cigars. He smoked cigars. I can almost see him smoking right now."

"It's good that you have memories of him."

"Yes, it is," Ellie said, but then she trailed off into her own thoughts again.

Alan got up and grabbed a few blankets that were nearby. As he was up, she began talking again.

"I have this one specific thought of my father. We lived on a dead end street and there was a patch of woods nearby. Our house was the third from the end and so I was always trying to devise new ways of getting into the woods. I was a tomboy I guess. Anyway, I remember one afternoon in particular. I began to walk toward the woods and he gently grabbed my arm from behind. I didn't even know he was watching or even home yet. He whispered to me. He said . . . 'Don't go in those woods. Monsters live in those woods.' I remember freaking out because that was the first I had ever heard that we had monsters on our block. I ran into the house screaming."

The memory made her smile at first, but then caused a few tears to well up in her eyes. Alan was next to her by now with the blanket. He put it around her and then sat next to her. She wiped her tears away and rested her head on his shoulder.

"But you know something? I never went into those woods. That man knew what he was doing."

"Sounds like he was a very intelligent guy."

"Yeah," she said, wiping the rest of the tears away. "So, what about you? Ever lose anyone close to you?"

As soon as the question came out, Ellie regretted it. Of course there was someone close to him that he had lost. His wife. She felt embarrassed that she opened her mouth before thinking, but she couldn't take it back now. She removed her head from his shoulder and gave him a little space.

"Well, you know about Kathryn, right?"

"Of course. I just wasn't thinking. I'm sorry about that, Alan."

"It's okay. It would probably do me good to talk about her."

"You don't have to if you don't want to."

"I know, but I think I want to."

Ellie stayed silent. She got closer to him again and wrapped an arm around his waist.

"She was a remarkable woman. I met her while I was in school. She was the daughter of one of the instructors."

"Oh, I see."

"It's a good thing that the instructor liked me," he said, laughing.

"So was it love at first sight?" Ellie asked, as she was really curious about this other woman.

"Not really. She walked into the classroom while her father and I were having a disagreement about a term paper of mine. She cussed me out actually."

"Wow. What a start," Ellie said, smiling.

"Yeah," he said, obviously remembering what she had said to him in his mind, "We hit it off later though. She was always around helping her father with things, so I saw her a lot. She must have just gotten used to me I guess."

"So how long were you married?"

"Five years. She passed away in 1988. Cancer."

"I'm so sorry."

"I've finally started to adjust now. It's taken three years for me to even think about moving on," he said, as he looked directly at Ellie, "And I think I'm finally at that turnaround point. Right now."

Ellie leaned in and kissed him. He returned the kiss and placed a hand on her face. When the kiss was finished, they settled on embracing one another for several minutes. Alan got into the question mode again.

"So, have there been any significant others in your life?"

Ellie thought about it.

"Yeah. I would have to say two. There was my junior high crush, Joey. And then there was a guy named Henry."

"Henry?"

"You're not making fun of his name, are you?"

"No," Alan slyly answered.

"Good. Cause Henry is a very large man, very defensive of his nerdy name. He was actually kind of a bully really, but he was always very nice to me."

"And you dated this neanderthal?"

Ellie laughed quite hard.

"Yes. He was a very sweet person . . . when he wasn't beating up people," she added.

"So when did you know this . . . Henry?"

"We dated about four years ago. It only lasted about six months."

"What? Did he go to jail or something?"

Ellie playfully hit Alan in the arm.

"No!"

Alan flinched a little bit and then began to laugh. He wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Then where did he go?"

"Law school."

Alan burst out laughing, causing Ellie to hit him again.

"I'm sorry. Sorry," he said, trying to stop laughing, "So, is he a lawyer now?"

"I think he is, yes."

"Good for Henry."

A strong wind gusted through the campsite, causing the fire to dance. Ellie shivered under the blanket.

"Wanna turn in for the night?" Alan asked, still holding her.

"Sounds good. It's getting rather cold out here."

Alan stood up and began to extinguish the fire, while Ellie made her way to the tent. In just a few minutes, he had joined her inside the tent. He waited until she got the various blankets situated the way she wanted, and then he laid down next to her.

She was still shivering, but she had always been like that. Whenever she would get cold, it was very difficult to get warmed up again. She smiled to herself, though, knowing that there was a very available man just to her right, that would surely help her keep warm.

"Are you cold?" she asked.

"A little. You look like you're freezing."

"Yeah, I am. I can't stop shivering."

"Well, let me see if I can alleviate that," he said, smiling.

He reached around her back, embracing her. She had already begun to feel better, as his very warm arms wrapped around her shivering body.

"How is it that you're so snug and warm?" she whispered.

"I have no idea."

Ellie snickered. She wanted to lie in a different position, so she sat up, gently pushing him away. Then she pushed him to his back and leaned her head on his shoulder. He moved slightly, wrapping an arm around her again. She slowly moved her hand back and forth over his shirt . . . over his chest.

"This is perfect," she whispered, closing her eyes, "Thank you for bringing me out here."

"It was my pleasure," he whispered back.

She lifted her head and turned enough so that she could kiss him.

"Good night," she said between kisses.

"Night."

Alan was more calm, content and comfortable at this very moment, than he had been in years. Literally years. He closed his eyes, holding onto this wonderful woman by his side. He stayed silent as she readjusted herself and went back to leaning on his shoulder. They fell asleep in each other's arms as the wind whipped around outside.