"Please God, let her be ok," Malone silently prayed. "I love her so much. I could deal with just being her friend for the rest of our lives if I had to, but I don't think I could deal with losing her. Please, let her be ok."
Finn reached the top in a matter of minutes. The tree house was still intact, but there was a fair amount of damage. She knew exactly where to look for Veronica-in the center of the room where the marks were on the floor. She was right. Veronica was in that very spot, laying face down on the floor. "Vee!!" Finn screamed as she ran over to her friend.
"Finn!" Challenger yelled. "What's wrong? Is she up there?" Finn tried to calm down. She knew that she had to keep a cool head if she wanted to help Veronica. She checked quickly to see if Veronica was breathing. She was, but it was shallow. Finn ran over to the balcony and looked down at the group. "Yes, she's here. She's laying on the floor. She's breathing, but she's unconscious."
"Ok, Finn, I need you to see if you can find the rope. It should be somewhere by the top of the elevator."
Finn quickly found the rope ladder, and secured it to the sturdiest part of the tree house. Challenger climbed up, and went over to examine Veronica as the others made their way up. Malone watched the other three go up the ladder as he stood deep in thought. As eager as he was to see Veronica, this wasn't quite what he had in mind. He had pictured walking up to the tree house, and seeing Veronica sitting up on the balcony painting. He would watch her for a few minutes without her knowing, and then he would walk out into the open. Her hand would reach for her knife, and her head would snap towards him out of instinct and habit. But the guarded look in her eyes would quickly turn to joy, and her face would light up at the sight of him. She would let go of her knife, grab for a vine, and swing down to him in a smooth, swift motion. He would catch her in his arms and spin her around. And as he slowly lowered her down, their smiles would turn to serious gazes of genuine affection, and he would kiss her.
He knew his daydream was a little optimistic since she had always told him they could just be friends, but he had acquired a newfound confidence while he was away, and he wasn't willing to give up on Veronica as easily as he had in the past. But that storm had changed things. He would not have a heroic homecoming with Veronica. At this point, he wasn't sure if she would ever know that he came home at all. And that scared him. He felt that familiar fear well up inside of him-fear that he hadn't experienced in the months that he had been away. He had been on a mission to find himself, and to prove to himself that he wasn't the coward he always thought he was. What he found was that there was a brave man inside of him. A strong man. A survivor. His experiences with the Challenger Expedition had helped shape him into that, and he built on it even more during his time alone. But, he also found that he had a soft spot that nothing could ever change-his love for Veronica. However, he didn't consider that an Achilles heel. After all, he had always looked up to Roxton as a role model, and everyone knew Roxton had a soft spot for Marguerite. But that didn't make Roxton weak. If anything, Marguerite made him stronger-made his life worth living. And that was exactly how Malone felt about Veronica. And now, here she was, the person who made his life worth living, lying unconscious in the tree house. He was scared to look at her. Scared that one look at her would tell him that she was going to leave him. He finally made his way up the ladder, and quickly went over to the rest of the group. Challenger had rolled Veronica onto her back and was kneeling besides her. The rest were gathered around her. Malone got close to them, but not close enough to see his jungle beauty. "George, what can we do for her?" Marguerite asked. "Well, for starters, she's freezing. Chilled to the bone. We need to get her warm." "Chilled?" Marguerite asked. "How is that possible? It's just as hot and humid here as it always is." "I know, Marguerite. I know. But who knows what she went through during that storm. Her body could be in shock. At any rate, our first priority is to get her warm and comfortable. Roxton, you and Marguerite go to Veronica's room, and see if you can clear off any wreckage that might be on the bed." "Sure thing," Roxton said as he and Marguerite walked away.
"Finn, I'll need you to go around the tree house and find anything that we can use as blankets. We don't have a lot of heavy things here due to the heat, so we'll just have to pile as much as we can. See if you can find anything in her parents' trunk. They might have brought something warm with them."
"No problem, Challenger."
"Malone, I'll need you to stay with her while I see if I can salvage any of our medical supplies." Challenger, not waiting for a response, stood up and began his mission.
Nothing stood between Malone and Veronica, and he laid eyes on her for the first time in months. She was just as beautiful as she was in his dreams-the dreams that got him through all of those nights alone in the jungle. He knelt down beside her, and stroked her hair. "You're going to be ok, Veronica. I'll make sure of it. We all will." He took her hand, and almost dropped it out of shock. Challenger wasn't kidding when he said she was chilled. Her hand was like ice. Malone started rubbing her hands vigorously with his own, attempting to get her blood circulating.
Soon, the others had all returned from their errands. "Is the bed cleared off?" Challenger asked.
"Yes," Marguerite replied. "It's all ready. Her room actually wasn't as bad as it is out here."
"The lab wasn't in bad shape either. I think we got pretty lucky, under the circumstances. That was a hell of a storm. How about you, Finn. Did you have any luck with the blankets?"
"Well, I did find one warm blanket in Vee's parents' trunk. Otherwise, I just took all of the sheets off of our beds. I figured it's a small sacrifice for us to make if it's going to help Vee. I was thinking, we don't really have a lot of warm clothes to put her in, but maybe we could use some of your clothes, or Roxton's."
"That won't be necessary, Finn. Veronica's body temperature is severely low, and we'll need to get it up as fast as we can. The best way to do that is by transferring body heat, and with as few obstacles as possible. The more layers between her body and the heat, the longer it will take for the heat to get to her."
Finn thought for a moment. "So what you're saying is basically that someone needs to get naked with Vee."
Challenger blushed a little. "Your bluntness never ceases to amaze me, child. While it would be preferable for no barriers at all, I think it best that we try to preserve some modesty."
"Well," Marguerite said, "she can't be terribly comfortable in that little outfit she always wears. I have a light nightgown that we can put her into. It will make her comfortable, and it will easily let the heat in to warm her."
"That sounds like a good plan."
"I hate to state the obvious," said Roxton, "but the question remains as to which one of us will actually provide the body heat."
"Yes," Challenger replied. "Well, as to that, it is a scientific fact that men emanate more body heat than women-" Marguerite snorted at this comment "-so that narrows it down to three of us."
"I think it should be Malone," Finn blurted out. Everyone looked at her, including Malone, whose face began to redden. "Well," Finn added, "it's just that she told me what good friends you are, and how much you've been through together."
"That's true, Malone." Marguerite added. "She would be the most comfortable with you."
Challenger, knowing the reporter's sensibilities, added, "You won't be compromising her, Malone. She'll have on Marguerite's nightgown, and all you'll have to do is take off your shirt."
"Ok," said Malone. "I'll do whatever it takes to help Veronica."
"Good, it's settled," said Roxton. "Now we'd better get started before the poor girl freezes to death while we stand around making decisions. I will carry her to her room. Marguerite, go get your nightgown, and you and Finn can change her into it."
A few minutes later, Malone stood in Veronica's room. Challenger had taken a blood sample from Veronica, and went to his lab to study it. He told them all that until they got Veronica over the chill, there was nothing to do but wait. Finn had followed Challenger to the lab, while Marguerite and Roxton sat in the living room holding each other. Both were thankful to have each other back, especially after watching Malone agonize over Veronica. They sat quietly, letting their embraces and kisses speak for them.
Malone removed his shirt, and crawled into bed beside Veronica. Perhaps he hadn't changed that much after all. Despite Challenger's reassurances, he was still apprehensive about being this intimate with Veronica without her consent. But, he knew it was the only way to get her better. He pulled all of the covers over the two of them, and tucked all of the edges under them so that it was almost like a cocoon. He put his arms around her and held her close to him, pressing his chest against her back. He couldn't believe how cold she felt, even through the thin material of Marguerite's nightgown. "What happened to you, Veronica?" he whispered. "What did you go through to save us?" He leaned in and kissed her cheek. He felt tired, but he didn't want to leave Veronica. He was emotionally exhausted from the ordeal in the time warp, and from Veronica, and he was physically exhausted from the long journey he made before he walked into the time warp. Finally, realizing that she was safe as long as she was in his arms, he succumbed to sleep.