A/N: Aug 21, 2012: 3rd chapter, fixed. Thanks to anyone who's reading!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Lost World.
Chapter 3:
1 month later ~ ~
It was early morning, around seven o'clock when Malone awoke. From the silence around him, it seemed he was the first to awaken.
He'd come awake with the sense that the day would be a good one. His mood decidedly cheerful, he decided to make breakfast for his two companions.
Quite a bit had changed since Roxton and Veronica had disappeared. Life was much quieter, almost duller, but they seemed to get through it. The sadness still weighed heavily across each of their shoulders, but every time they were close to tears they reminded themselves of the good times they shared with their departed friends. It did the trick to stave off the darkness that threatened each of them.
Malone decided that a fish would make a fine breakfast that sunny morning, but he'd have to catch it first. So, grabbing his fishing rod and gun, he went down the elevator. It took him about fifteen minutes for the first fish to bite, after another ten minutes he had three good-sized fishes in his possession. That was enough. He made his way back to the tree-house.
That was no trouble whatsoever, he mused to himself. Thank goodness.
Hopping out of the elevator, he went straight for the kitchen. In no time at all, he managed to cook a lovely breakfast for three. And he hurriedly went to wake up the other two before it got cold.
Challenger, having woken up earlier, intercepted him just as he made his way to his room.
"The smell was too good, I just had to wake up," Challenger complimented.
"Well, dig in, there's plenty for all of us," Malone assured. "I'm going to wake Marguerite."
He proceeded to Marguerite's room, listening in at the curtain for signs of her being awake. He heard some suspicious sniffling, so he called out, "Marguerite, may I come in?"
"Just a second," she called back.
He had a feeling that he shouldn't heed her words, so he didn't. He walked right in only to see her attempt to hide a photograph. She looked at him, with wide guilty eyes. Normally, she'd have yelled at him but she just didn't feel normal today.
"Can I see that?" he asked, bluntly. She gave it to him without out hesitation, her eyes down cast to the bed.
It was a photograph of Roxton, taken here on the plateau. He wasn't surprised, only surprised that she'd try to hide it.
"Marguerite," he started slowly. "You don't have to hide a picture of him. We know you miss him; it's all right. Put it by your bed."
"I wasn't trying to hide it. I— I was just umm… looking! Yes, looking at it when you so rudely barged in," she argued, a hint of her usual haughtiness in her voice. "But, you're right; it would look lovely on my bedside table."
"Marguerite, are you ok?" Malone asked, concerned, knowing that this was all a ruse for her true feelings.
"Yes, yes, just fine," she lied.
"Are you sure?" he felt the need to press.
"Yes… No," Marguerite burst out. The tears soon followed, rolling down her face. "I'm a wreck. I can't think about anything except that he's dead. He's dead and she's dead. They're both dead."
Caught off guard by the strength of her outburst, he couldn't help but freeze when she suddenly threw herself into his arms crying hysterically. After a moment's hesitation, he tried to quiet her down.
He had no idea what would help, but decided that reminiscing about some good times would cheer her up surely.
"Remember the time we met King Gawayne and how Roxton saved you. And when we got home Challenger and Summerlee didn't believe a word we told them."
"Yeah," Marguerite said slowly, sniffling as she brought her head up from his chest. "That was funny."
"Or, remember when we were all naked after that time we had in Adrianne's castle," Malone kept on going.
"Now, that was hilarious!" Marguerite said more heartily, even laughing.
"What exactly did you say to Roxton?" Malone asked curiously.
"I don't think you want to know," Marguerite replied, she grimaced.
"Oh, come on, it couldn't have been that bad," Malone scoffed.
"All right… you asked for it."
She leaned up so that her mouth was near his ear and whispered. His expression changed quickly from smiles to shock.
"He was right that isn't possible," Malone replied good-naturedly.
They shared a quick longing laugh before it died down into companionable silence.
"I'm so sorry, Ned," Marguerite broke the quiet first, letting out a sigh. "I can be so self-absorbed sometimes. I try to remember that I'm not the only one… that you lost them, too. I just… I get lost in myself sometimes."
"Don't worry about me," he reassured. She didn't need the extra worry. He could handle himself. "I'll be fine."
"Thank you, Malone, for everything. Without you I don't think I'd have survived!" Marguerite exclaimed abruptly.
She hugged him then, pushing her body against his. She planted a kiss on his cheek and she was close enough for him to take in the scent of her, lavender and vanilla. Sweet. All too quickly, she pulled back from the embrace. But when her eyes met his, he knew something strange was happening.
Their bodies, as if of their own accord, began to gravitate towards each other, leaning into each other's warmth. And then…they kissed.
Lips brushing against each other, in a butterfly of a touch, neither of them could quite comprehend what was happening, only that it was. The kiss, though gentle and soft, was long. And it wasn't until they heard a strange noise coming from close by that they thought about withdrawing from each other.
Releasing almost reluctantly, they each took in their surroundings in a bit of a haze. It was then they realized that Challenger stood in the doorway, eyeing them with raised eyebrows.
Embarrassment washed over the caught couple. Both were afraid of what would come from the older man's mouth.
But, when his lips parted, all Challenger said was, "Come now, you two, breakfast is getting cold."
Apparently they were going to just glance over what happened. That worked for the blushing couple, just fine. Malone strolled out of the room first, with Marguerite soon following. The three of them emerged into the kitchen and sat around the table to eat.
They ate in complete silence, the only sounds of scraping utensils and chewing. The clearing of the table was also done in the tense quiet.
Malone was the first to break the silence. "I'm going hunting; our supply of meat is very low."
Marguerite watched him walk over to the gun rack to peruse his weapons. She couldn't contain her worry.
"Alone? Are you sure that's safe?" Marguerite asked concernedly.
He gave her a wry smirk. "Don't worry about me, Marguerite, I'll be fine." He needed to get out of there. He felt like he was being watched and he didn't like it. He started to go for the elevator when Marguerite stopped him in his tracks.
"Wait," she called out. "I'll go with you."
"No," Challenger stated firmly, a grimace on his face.
"Why ever not?" she retorted heatedly.
"I was hoping you'd help me in the lab," Challenger answered somewhat feebly.
"Stay here, Marguerite, he needs your help," Malone allowed. He could see that Challenger had his reasons, and that his reasons had to do with the moment he'd shared with Marguerite. He didn't want to fight with the older man, so he was quick to back off.
"I'm perfectly capable of making my own decisions, thank you very much. Do you need my help that desperately, Challenger?" she asked in annoyance.
"Yes, you'd be a great help," Challenger replied believably.
"I guess I'll stay then," Marguerite said, disappointed.
"Ok then, I'll be back by dinner. See you," Malone said as he walked over to the elevator.
"Bye," Challenger and Marguerite said in unison.
And then he disappeared down the elevator.
Dinnertime ~ ~
"Thank you for the lovely dinner, Marguerite," Challenger congratulated.
"Yes, it was delicious," Malone added, satisfied.
"Thank you, you two. I was competing with Malone's fabulous breakfast," Marguerite conversed lightly. "I'll clear the table; you two can run off, now."
"Thank you, Marguerite," Challenger answered graciously, before turning to address Malone. "Malone, can I have a word with you on the balcony?"
"Sure," he replied. He gave Marguerite a quick look that said, 'What's this all about?' But, she just shrugged her shoulders.
He followed Challenger silently out onto the balcony. They both sat down on the bench getting comfortable.
Finally, it was Malone who broke the silence. "Well…"
"Umm… I'm not sure how to begin, but here goes. I know we've all been through a rough time recently and that both you and Marguerite are very vulnerable at the moment..." his friend trailed off awkwardly.
Challenger remained silent as if he were done saying what he had to say. Malone sat there, staring at him, perplexed, until it dawned on him.
"Oh, now I know what this is about," Malone began. "This is about the kiss you walked in
on."
"Precisely," Challenger said, looking relieved that he didn't actually have to say it.
"And you want to tell me that you don't want it to happen again because you think I'm taking advantage of her."
"Well… yes," Challenger said. He began to say something else but Malone cut him off.
"And that we've both been through rough times and that we need to be careful," he finished. "Well, don't worry because I don't think it will happen again."
"Good," Challenger said decisively. "I'm glad we had this talk."
Challenger stood up then, looking around absently, as if he'd forgotten something. But, with a quick nod, he was off presumably to his lab.
Malone sat there a bit longer. He pulled out a photograph of Veronica from his shirt pocket. It was one he'd found and kept hidden from her for fear of being shot down again.
He began to wonder about everything that happened of late.
I've lost you, Veronica and it's still so hard to believe. You and Roxton were like my family and now you're gone, he thought unhappily.
He was never going to see her smile, or hear her beautiful voice. He'd never hear her laugh when Marguerite and Roxton had a bickering session. Never.
Never was definitely a word he was beginning to hate.
A few tears escaped his eyes and rolled down his cheek before he could catch them between fingertips.
"Malone, are you alright?" Marguerite asked, her voice hesitant.
He quickly swiped at his eyes, glancing over at her standing by the doorway. "I'm fine," he assured.
"No, you're not," she denied softly. "You've bottled up all your emotions. Let it out. Let me help you like you have helped me." She took Challenger's vacated seat and put her hand on his.
"It finally sunk in that I will never see her again. And it's just… hard to handle… I'm not sure that I can," Malone revealed.
He wouldn't look at her, seemingly ashamed of his grief. She moved in closer, closing the distance between them, thighs brushing against each other's. "Let me give you some good advice a very dear friend of mine told me," Marguerite said, slowly. "Just… close your eyes and remember. Remember all the good times you enjoyed together."
He did as she said, remembering the first time they all met, how he had admired Roxton for his determination and reputation. He remembered the first time he'd encountered Veronica, how she'd startled him out of his thoughts on propriety. He remembered and soon he was feeling much better.
"Thank you, Marguerite, for reminding me of what's important," Malone said affectionately. "I appreciate it. I… I appreciate you."
Marguerite could not ignore the sense of warmth that rushed to her belly. She smiled on him tenderly and replied, "I'm only repaying the kindness you showed me. So, I thank you."
She got up, intending on calling it a night. Her nerves were thoroughly done what with today's eventful happenings.
Ned quickly blurted out, "Did you regret it?"
She turned around on one foot. "Regret what?" she asked, though, she knew full well what he was asking.
"The kiss," he answered hastily.
"Was Challenger giving you a hard time about that," Marguerite questioned airily, like the moment they shared had been of no consequence, when, in actuality, it was.
"Yes and no," Malone let her know. "In no uncertain terms, he informed me that I should think twice before I let it happen again."
"Ah, I see… To answer your question, no, I don't regret the kiss," she surprised him by saying. "We were both in pain. We found an effective way of getting rid of the pain if only for a moment. However, I'll have to agree with Challenger; we shouldn't let it happen again. It's um… too soon for me. You understand?"
"Yes, I understand," Malone assured.
She gave him that smile again and turned to take her leave. A few steps into her journey and Malone's voice was halting her once again.
"I didn't regret it, either."
She gave him a slight nod, acknowledging his words and then she was out of sight.
And then to himself, he added, "This was a good day, after all."
"Roxton, wake up," Veronica said with urgency to a sleeping Roxton. She shook him hard.
"What, what is it?" Roxton answered sleepily.
"I hear voices," she whispered.
Ever since the day they'd dropped down wherever they were, they'd been walking, following the shore of the ocean, camping here and there along the way. Skirting outwards from the water's edge at times, they'd found a number of fresh water pools around that supplied them water. Food was the easier part, they hunted or foraged whatever they could find. A month had passed this way, with no other company but each other. Now, with voices about, there was a possibility of that changing.
"Can you understand them?" Roxton asked, now alert.
"They're too far away," Veronica replied. "Let's get closer."
They crawled towards some cloaking bushes, crouching low so they would be hidden.
"I'm tired of camping out here. There's no gold to be found anywhere," one man whined.
"Tell that to the governor. He's so damn fired up about gold. Did you know he was sent here by his majesty himself. He doesn't want to fail, don'cha know," another man stated assuredly.
"I know, I know. But there's nothing here," the first man replied.
"Ah stop your whining and let's get back to camp," the second man finished.
As they walked away, their voices went with them, and Roxton and Veronica couldn't hear a thing.
"Did you hear that? Their accent is like yours," Veronica declared. "They're British."
"And our ticket out of here," Roxton replied eagerly. "We'll approach them in the morning."
With a lightness in their step they began to walk back to their own camp.
"I'm finally going home," he said. Without Marguerite.
Chapter 3, done. I've tried my best to catch and fix any errors. But feel free to let me know if you find anything that needs a second look. Thanks!