Okay, I'm going to give a second chapter a try. Once again, I'm sorry if you don't like it. I hope its good, but either way, I am just going to write and you can judge for yourself. This chapter is a bit off the topic, but I figured that just focusing on Ned and Veronica would be unfair, somehow. By the way, I'm apologizing ahead of time to all the fans of Marguerite and Roxton. I found shortly after I started writing that my writing doesn't do them justice, its just hard for me to get into their minds (if I did anything right, I give all the credit to Pam4 and her story "What Goes On In Her Mind," I kind of used it for inspiration, and if I did anything wrong then it was my fault, not hers).
Note: Thanks for the reviews! To be honest, I expected to get either no reviews or a couple of "This Sucks!" reviews. So, thanks, for the encouragement.
Sidenote: To Sue19: I'd like to answer your question but it would make the outcome a foregone conclusion and if there's anything I like in a good story (not that I'm saying this is a good story), its a little mystery.
Disclaimer: If you missed it on the last chapter, I don't own any Lost World characters. If I did and I had money, there'd be a fourth season shooting right now but I don't so no more of the "what if's"
Coming into sight of the tree house, Roxton had to stop himself from getting overexcited. It was almost kind of funny, the way he had taken everything for granted. The tree house had always been convenient for him but he never appreciated it quite as much as he did then.
Its amazing how a life or death experience can change your perception on life. Slowly, he continued on to the tree house but was stopped in his tracks at the sound of something moving up ahead. He raised his rifle, only to remember that he didn't have any bullets left. His first impulse was to run for the electric fence but the thing seemed to be closer to the tree house than he was.
He bent down to pick up a fallen branch lying nearby. It wasn't much of a weapon but it was thick enough to sting pretty bad if someone or something decided to get up close and personal.
He had no intention of provoking it, but he did want see who or what it was. He creeped forward into the brush to get a look. His legs were tired, and fighting for his life had dulled his senses somewhat, causing him to make the mistake of stepping on a relatively good-sized twig. It snapped and the sound was loud enough to alert anyone in the area.
The thing suddenly stopped and started creeping towards Roxton's hiding place. Adrenaline pumped into Roxton as he realized that it had to be human or at least something intelligent. It was cautiously approaching and most raptors were stupid enough to come running. He prepared himself to attack it, bringing the branch up in front of him and crouching in preparation for his pounce. The thing got closer and closer until it was nearly on top of him.
Pouncing forward, Roxton brought the branch up and prepared to strike the "thing" but he stopped just before he hit it. There in front of him was an extremely frantic brunette, who's features were instantly recognizable.
"Roxton, I could have shot you!" Marguerite uttered as she struggled to get her breathing under control. "What do you think you're doing!"
Roxton looked at her sheepishly, obviously trying to control his embarrassment at almost mugging her. "Sorry, I didn't know who you were." His gaze wavered and he stared briefly at the ground before realizing his obvious show of weakness and returned to his normally unwavering self.
She knew she could drop it there, but it was just too good of an opportunity so she allowed herself one little poke at his pride. "John Roxton," she said as she saw a grin come across his face, "if I didn't know better, I would think you were enjoying the thought of tackling me."
Sure enough, the implications of the statement brought the uncertain look back briefly before he reined it in and returned her jeer. "Well if I knew such wild beasts roamed around here, I would have brought a bigger stick," he said as he nodded at the branch he still held in his hand.
"Ha, ha, ha, Roxton," Marguerite returned sarcastically, "your wit always astounds me."
"Well, its nice to know I can impress you," he said, sporting that grin that Marguerite loved so much.
She chuckled at it slightly but decided the jeers would just continue between the two, so why not end on a good note. "Come on, let's go see how everyone else fared." With that, she started walking towards the tree house, with Roxton keeping pace to her right.
In her heart, she had secretly been panicking that Roxton hadn't escaped and, even worse, he was dead somewhere. The ambush had been unexpected but at the same time relieving. "So, what happened with the Conquistadors?" She tried her best to keep the worry out of her voice and act like she didn't care.
"I ran out of bullets and rushed them. I struggled with a couple of them and almost got shot but then they just disappeared." He shrugged as if to say just another day, but she could see right through it. He must have been tired or emotionally exhausted because he didn't do a very good job at convincing her or concealing a small tingle of fear that surfaced. "What about you, what happened to you?"
"I was transported somewhere, I'm not sure. Then a bunch of Druids tried to sacrifice me. They just about did when everything just disappeared." She did a much better job at concealing her fear then Roxton had. Her voice implied that it hadn't fazed her, but she knew he would have his suspicions. He was always the best at reading her. Most of the time it made her angry, but on this occasion, she decided it really didn't matter that much.
"Marguerite," Roxton interrupted her thoughts with a soft voice, "I was worried about you for a while there. I thought I would never see you again." The sincerity in his voice stunned Marguerite and for some reason, gave her an odd feeling in her heart. His voice was one of the things she thought she would never hear again. It was the same voice she imagined in her dreams of him, the same voice she anticipated and dreaded, and the same voice she had tried so hard in the past to get out of her head.
"I was worried about you too," she replied, trying her best not to show the emotions she felt inside. She looked straight at him as he stared off down the path to the tree house. She could tell that there was a war raging in him to say something and she would have given anything to find out what it was.
Suddenly he stopped, apparently coming to a decision. "Marguerite," he said as he turned to meet her gaze, "you know you mean everything to me? I don't think I could have lived without you."
Part of her screamed for joy at his confession and she tried her best to suppress it but she couldn't in time. A smile spread over her face and she actually felt a little weak. Her brain screamed at her that this was a mistake. She had been betrayed so many times in life, how could she feel like this for some one? Now it was her turn to fight a war against herself. All the pain of a lifetime was fighting against her need for him. In the end, all she could do is stand there and look at him
"I just wanted you to know that," he continued, still peering into her eyes for any sort of sign, only to find none. Hesitantly, he took her hand in his and when she didn't pull away, he took that as his sign. Slowly, he started to walk towards the tree house, guiding her along in his wake.
She followed as they finally neared the electric fence and started their ascent to greet the rest of their friends.
Well, that was it for the second chapter. I just had to include Roxton and Marguerite's relationship. It wouldn't be fair to just talk about Ned and Veronica and leave out these two. Hope you liked it.