A/N: Thanks so much to all who have reviewed!!! I really appreciate the
input!! I managed to find some time to actually do some writing on a
weeknight, so here's a new chapter. It deals a lot with Challenger because
I feel like I've been neglecting him. I love all the characters, so I want
to let them all have their fair share of story time. Hope you like it!
Challenger sat propped against a tree stump and stared out into the jungle. Finn, who was supposed to be on watch with him, was slumped beside him, dozing. Challenger didn't have the heart to wake her. It was almost dawn, and he would have to wake them all soon anyway. He looked over his shoulder at the rest of his tree house family. Marguerite was snuggled up to Roxton with her back against his chest, and his arms firmly wrapped around her. Challenger was a little surprised to see this, but happy. The two of them were usually much more discrete around the others, but something had obviously changed.
A few feet away, Ned and Veronica were similarly arranged. Her head was resting on his shoulder, and he had one arm wrapped around her shoulder, and the other was covering her hand, which was resting on his chest.
Challenger smiled. It was good to see that his friends were finally learning that time is too precious to waste being scared. He knew that none of them thought that he had any idealistic notions, or a romantic bone in his body. Roxton, Marguerite, and Veronica had seemed a little surprised at his description of love after Veronica's encounter with Ducart- how he said it was always worth the effort. He knew they all loved him and thought highly of him. But, they thought his mind was always engaged scientifically and logically. Usually, it was. But, underneath it all, he was a romantic. Though, it was better to let them go on thinking about him as the scientist-that way, he could meddle without being suspected. His smile grew larger as he recalled overhearing Marguerite cursing him out for telling Finn about Ducart. Neither she, nor the others would ever suspect that he told Finn purposely, knowing that she would let it slip to Malone. After all, these young people needed some help if they were ever going to get together. He knew Veronica would struggle with telling Malone. Finn telling him first would give her a little push, and make her face Malone, and he would help her finally deal with her emotions and put Ducart behind her.
He also found it amusing that no one ever noticed how he always seemed to find a reason to send Marguerite and Roxton off together, frequently on a quest that required them to stay overnight. Or, if they did notice, they didn't know his motives for doing so. They probably just thought that the hunter and the heiress were his favorite victims for gathering supplies for his experiments. They didn't suspect that he wanted to give them time alone together. He knew they were both proud and stubborn. They were also two people who didn't easily show their emotions to others. Therefore, he knew that they would never make themselves vulnerable to each other if they were always surrounded by the rest of the group. They needed the opportunity to be alone together for them to really open up to each other, so Challenger gave them excuses to have that time together.
Challenger knew he hadn't always been this romantic. As a young man, he had been very driven and dedicated to his science. "Yet, somehow, I was still lucky enough to win Jessie's heart," he mused to himself. Though, even Jessie wasn't enough to deter him from his science. The turning point for Challenger had come much later in his life. It had been on this Plateau. He started to realize how precious life was when Summerlee disappeared. It was ironic. He had worked so hard at discrediting Summerlee's work, and in the end, Summerlee was the one who taught him the most important lesson he had ever learned-that family and friends are the most important things in life. Challenger knew what was important now. He still valued science very much, but he knew that if. . .no, when he got back to London, he would work harder at his marriage and take less time for his work. Jessie deserved better than the workaholic who left for this journey.
Challenger's thoughts were interrupted by someone stirring. He turned to see Veronica gently wiggling out of Ned's grasp. She crept around the campsite, picking up everyone's canteens, and then went over to Challenger. "Good morning, Veronica," he whispered.
"Good morning, Challenger," she said, trying unsuccessfully to return his smile. "I'm going to the river to fill these up, and I'll see if I can catch some fish for breakfast."
Challenger nodded and watched the blonde walk away. He knew she wouldn't give in to her emotions that easily. She was going to try to put up that wall again. But he also knew that with Ned's help and determination, she wouldn't keep it up long.
Challenger decided it was probably time to wake the others. "Finn," he said, shaking her gently. "Finn, wake up."
She looked up at him, sleepily. "Wha-- Oh my gosh! I fell asleep on watch! I'm so sorry, Challenger!"
"It's okay, my dear," Challenger replied. "No harm done. You've been out for twenty minutes at the most. But, it is time to get up now."
Finn wiped the sleep out of her eyes and stretched as Challenger called out to the others. "Roxton! Marguerite! Malone!"
Roxton's eyes popped open. He kept his arms around Marguerite, but lifted his head to look at Challenger. "SHH! You'll wake it!"
Finn laughed. "Roxton! You just called Marguerite 'it'!"
Roxton replied, "I wasn't talking about Marguerite. I was talking about the beast that possesses her body before she has her morning coffee."
Finn laughed at the mingling of amusement and fear in the hunter's eyes when Marguerite said, "The beast is awake, so you'd better get moving on that coffee."
Challenger and Finn turned away as Roxton and Marguerite greeted each other good morning.
"So I'm a beast, am I?" Marguerite whispered to him.
"Only in the best possible sense of the word," he teased as he leaned in to kiss her.
Malone began to stir, and the four explorers looked in his direction. They all noticed how he reached for the empty space at his side, where Veronica had been all night. Not finding her, he immediately woke up. He was about to speak, but Marguerite beat him to it. "Where's Veronica?" she asked Challenger.
"Oh, she just went down to the river to fill up canteens and to see if she could catch some fish for breakfast."
"Well, I think I'll go help her," Marguerite said, putting on her boots. "I need to wash up anyway. And while I'm gone, Lord Roxton, you'd better get started on that coffee!"
"Your wish is my command, your royal beastliness," Roxton winked at her, and began to help Finn and Challenger resurrect the fire.
Marguerite paused, noticing Malone's crestfallen look. She knew he was wondering why Veronica took off this morning after they had bonded last night. She walked over to the reporter. "She's a proud woman, Ned. We all know that. She's probably a little embarrassed about allowing herself to finally open up about her feelings. She'll come around."
"Thanks," Ned answered, still a little disheartened.
Marguerite gave him a smile and an encouraging squeeze on the shoulder and walked in the direction of the river. She was hoping a little girl talk would help Veronica. She thought back to the reporter. It was amazing how much her relationships with everyone had developed over three years, but especially with Malone. Who would have ever guessed that the heiress would ever stop tormenting him and become his number one comforter? Marguerite thought that no one could possibly be as surprised as she was in herself.
TBC-coming up, Marguerite and Veronica have a little talk. One day in the journey down-two to go. What will Avalon have in store for our friends? And what is Veronica's quest. Stay tuned! (
Challenger sat propped against a tree stump and stared out into the jungle. Finn, who was supposed to be on watch with him, was slumped beside him, dozing. Challenger didn't have the heart to wake her. It was almost dawn, and he would have to wake them all soon anyway. He looked over his shoulder at the rest of his tree house family. Marguerite was snuggled up to Roxton with her back against his chest, and his arms firmly wrapped around her. Challenger was a little surprised to see this, but happy. The two of them were usually much more discrete around the others, but something had obviously changed.
A few feet away, Ned and Veronica were similarly arranged. Her head was resting on his shoulder, and he had one arm wrapped around her shoulder, and the other was covering her hand, which was resting on his chest.
Challenger smiled. It was good to see that his friends were finally learning that time is too precious to waste being scared. He knew that none of them thought that he had any idealistic notions, or a romantic bone in his body. Roxton, Marguerite, and Veronica had seemed a little surprised at his description of love after Veronica's encounter with Ducart- how he said it was always worth the effort. He knew they all loved him and thought highly of him. But, they thought his mind was always engaged scientifically and logically. Usually, it was. But, underneath it all, he was a romantic. Though, it was better to let them go on thinking about him as the scientist-that way, he could meddle without being suspected. His smile grew larger as he recalled overhearing Marguerite cursing him out for telling Finn about Ducart. Neither she, nor the others would ever suspect that he told Finn purposely, knowing that she would let it slip to Malone. After all, these young people needed some help if they were ever going to get together. He knew Veronica would struggle with telling Malone. Finn telling him first would give her a little push, and make her face Malone, and he would help her finally deal with her emotions and put Ducart behind her.
He also found it amusing that no one ever noticed how he always seemed to find a reason to send Marguerite and Roxton off together, frequently on a quest that required them to stay overnight. Or, if they did notice, they didn't know his motives for doing so. They probably just thought that the hunter and the heiress were his favorite victims for gathering supplies for his experiments. They didn't suspect that he wanted to give them time alone together. He knew they were both proud and stubborn. They were also two people who didn't easily show their emotions to others. Therefore, he knew that they would never make themselves vulnerable to each other if they were always surrounded by the rest of the group. They needed the opportunity to be alone together for them to really open up to each other, so Challenger gave them excuses to have that time together.
Challenger knew he hadn't always been this romantic. As a young man, he had been very driven and dedicated to his science. "Yet, somehow, I was still lucky enough to win Jessie's heart," he mused to himself. Though, even Jessie wasn't enough to deter him from his science. The turning point for Challenger had come much later in his life. It had been on this Plateau. He started to realize how precious life was when Summerlee disappeared. It was ironic. He had worked so hard at discrediting Summerlee's work, and in the end, Summerlee was the one who taught him the most important lesson he had ever learned-that family and friends are the most important things in life. Challenger knew what was important now. He still valued science very much, but he knew that if. . .no, when he got back to London, he would work harder at his marriage and take less time for his work. Jessie deserved better than the workaholic who left for this journey.
Challenger's thoughts were interrupted by someone stirring. He turned to see Veronica gently wiggling out of Ned's grasp. She crept around the campsite, picking up everyone's canteens, and then went over to Challenger. "Good morning, Veronica," he whispered.
"Good morning, Challenger," she said, trying unsuccessfully to return his smile. "I'm going to the river to fill these up, and I'll see if I can catch some fish for breakfast."
Challenger nodded and watched the blonde walk away. He knew she wouldn't give in to her emotions that easily. She was going to try to put up that wall again. But he also knew that with Ned's help and determination, she wouldn't keep it up long.
Challenger decided it was probably time to wake the others. "Finn," he said, shaking her gently. "Finn, wake up."
She looked up at him, sleepily. "Wha-- Oh my gosh! I fell asleep on watch! I'm so sorry, Challenger!"
"It's okay, my dear," Challenger replied. "No harm done. You've been out for twenty minutes at the most. But, it is time to get up now."
Finn wiped the sleep out of her eyes and stretched as Challenger called out to the others. "Roxton! Marguerite! Malone!"
Roxton's eyes popped open. He kept his arms around Marguerite, but lifted his head to look at Challenger. "SHH! You'll wake it!"
Finn laughed. "Roxton! You just called Marguerite 'it'!"
Roxton replied, "I wasn't talking about Marguerite. I was talking about the beast that possesses her body before she has her morning coffee."
Finn laughed at the mingling of amusement and fear in the hunter's eyes when Marguerite said, "The beast is awake, so you'd better get moving on that coffee."
Challenger and Finn turned away as Roxton and Marguerite greeted each other good morning.
"So I'm a beast, am I?" Marguerite whispered to him.
"Only in the best possible sense of the word," he teased as he leaned in to kiss her.
Malone began to stir, and the four explorers looked in his direction. They all noticed how he reached for the empty space at his side, where Veronica had been all night. Not finding her, he immediately woke up. He was about to speak, but Marguerite beat him to it. "Where's Veronica?" she asked Challenger.
"Oh, she just went down to the river to fill up canteens and to see if she could catch some fish for breakfast."
"Well, I think I'll go help her," Marguerite said, putting on her boots. "I need to wash up anyway. And while I'm gone, Lord Roxton, you'd better get started on that coffee!"
"Your wish is my command, your royal beastliness," Roxton winked at her, and began to help Finn and Challenger resurrect the fire.
Marguerite paused, noticing Malone's crestfallen look. She knew he was wondering why Veronica took off this morning after they had bonded last night. She walked over to the reporter. "She's a proud woman, Ned. We all know that. She's probably a little embarrassed about allowing herself to finally open up about her feelings. She'll come around."
"Thanks," Ned answered, still a little disheartened.
Marguerite gave him a smile and an encouraging squeeze on the shoulder and walked in the direction of the river. She was hoping a little girl talk would help Veronica. She thought back to the reporter. It was amazing how much her relationships with everyone had developed over three years, but especially with Malone. Who would have ever guessed that the heiress would ever stop tormenting him and become his number one comforter? Marguerite thought that no one could possibly be as surprised as she was in herself.
TBC-coming up, Marguerite and Veronica have a little talk. One day in the journey down-two to go. What will Avalon have in store for our friends? And what is Veronica's quest. Stay tuned! (