A/N: Whew! This chapter wrote itself. It was weird. I sat down with a pen and this just spilled out. I didn't even think very hard. I wish everything I wrote would do that.

Anywho, I need to clarify a few things. Firstly, I forgot to say in the disclaimer last chapter that I don't own anything or anyong from Night at the Museum. I don't. So there. Secondly, I want to say that this is NOT going to be a full-blown crossover. Sorry. The only NATM character you're going to see from here on out is Larry. The only reason - well actually there were two reasons - I put the museum bit in last chapter was A) I was stuck, remember? That helped me step back from the story and figure out where I was going with it, and B) My OCD would NOT let me just stick Larry plop into my story. I had to explain how he got there. OCD sucks sometimes. Life would be a lot easier if it didn't exist. So. Yeah.

Thank you everyone for all the wonderful reviews, they were all extremely helpful! Keep it up, it does help me write easier!

Disclaimer: All things NT belong to Disney, Larry belongs to...whoever (whomever?) he belongs to. (I'm too lazy to go find the DVD case)

Hope you all enjoy, and now here's chapter 9!

Chapter 9

Melissa's mind was racing. What do I do now? she thought. She decided the simplest and least complicated thing to do would be to simply tell the truth. "I was with Abigail Chase; we were talking in her office just a few minutes ago," she explained, indicating the open office just behind her.

The security guard crossed his arms and stared down at her. He didn't look convinced. "And where exactly is Ms. Chase?" he asked. "I don't see her."

Slightly nervous, Melissa told him, "She left to go talk to Ben for a minute."

"Right," he said, nodding. "How long have you and Ms. Chase been friends?"

"Oh, well, um, I only just met her tonight, actually," she stammered. She realized how ridiculous her situation truly sounded and wondered briefly if it was too late to try to flirt her way out of trouble. The guy was rather good-looking, after all.

She got the shock of her life, however, when he grinned at her and said, "I know. You're Melissa, right? I'm Larry." He extended a hand for her to shake.

Melissa shook his hand absently, not quite sure what was going on. She made her best attempt to compose a perfectly well-worded sentence (or question) that expressed every ounce of utter confusion she was experiencing at that moment, but all that came out of her mouth was, "Huh?"

"I talked to Abigail a few minutes ago," Larry explained, and she let me know that you're clear to be back here."

"Then why did you scare me half to death just now?" Melissa demanded, indignant. She was extremely relieved that she wasn't in trouble, but she was not pleased about being tricked.

Larry shrugged innocently. "I just wanted a good excuse to be able to talk to a pretty girl," he said smoothly.

Melissa went red. So he was flirting with her, instead of the other way around. This could get interesting…

"No! I don't want to!" Upon reaching the Archives Building, Riley had plopped down on the steps and was stubbornly refusing to go inside.

"And why on earth not?" Kelsie asked.

Riley wrinkled his nose. "Old documents smell funny, remember? I thought we weren't going back inside; we were just going to watch the fireworks."

Kelsie rolled her eyes at Riley's childish behavior. She realized then that all Riley wanted was attention, and he was all but throwing a temper tantrum to get it. Okay, she thought. If he wants to act like a three-year-old, then I'm going to treat him like a three-year-old. "Riley, stand up this instant," she ordered. "We're going inside NOW. Five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . one!" When he remained stubbornly where he was, refusing to move, Kelsie decided to use her last resort trick she'd learned from babysitting the twins. "Fine," she said coolly, moving towards the doors, "just sit there. I'm going inside to find Melissa. You can just stay out here all by yourself."

"No, wait!" Riley called, scrambling to his feet. "I'm coming!" In his effort not to be left behind, he ran into the door.

Kelsie shook her head in disbelief. "You are such a toddler," she told him as she helped him inside.

Riley seemed extremely offended. "I am not!" he insisted.

"Oh, you are too."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Oh, look, there's Ben!" Riley pointed out. "C'mon, let's go introduce you."

So much for not wanting to come inside, Kelsie thought, following Riley over to where Ben was shaking hands with people.

"Kelsie," Riley introduced, "this is my good friend, Ben Gates. I'm sure you've heard of him." Kelsie nodded, shaking with silent laughter. "Ben, this is Kelsie Greene."

"Nice to meet you, Kelsie," Ben said, shaking her hand. "Would you like to join us to watch the fireworks outside? They should start soon."

"I'd love to," Kelsie said eagerly, "but first I need to find my friend Melissa."

Ben chuckled. "That shouldn't be difficult," he told her. "Last time I checked, she was off with Abigail in her office, giggling like a pair of teenagers. In fact," he added, "I think that's Abi coming right now."

Indeed it was "Oh, you're back!" Abigail said to Riley as she came to stand beside Ben. "You must be Kelsie," she said to the redheaded girl. "I've heard so much about you from Melissa. I'm Abigail."

"Speaking of Melissa," Riley said, "where is she? Kelsie needed to find her."

Abigail seemed a little taken aback. She remembered that the reason she had come out here without Melissa was that she needed to talk to Ben alone – which she wouldn't get a chance to do now, not for a while. "Oh, she's still in my office, I – "

"Great!" Ben said loudly, interrupting her. "Why don't you two girls go and get her, then meet us back here?" He gave Abi's hand a quick squeeze and smiled at her.

Abigail smiled back, but Kelsie thought it seemed forced. Neither of the men noticed anything wrong, however, and Abi led Kelsie back to her office where she had left Melissa.

Once the girls were out of earshot, Ben turned to Riley. "I'm doing it tonight," he told the younger man, grinning widely.

Twenty minutes later, all six of them: Kelsie, Riley, Ben, Abigail, Melissa, and Larry (who joined them when his shift ended at 9:30) were all outside on a huge blanket on the ground, seated in pairs. Ben and Abigail sat together, and Larry quickly claimed the spot next to Melissa. Kelsie sat by Riley with her head resting on his shoulder while he was absently playing with her hair.

The fireworks were amazing, but no one seemed to be watching them. Larry was busy flirting with Melissa by poking and tickling her, and Melissa was absorbed in trying (unsuccessfully) to ignore him. Ben and Riley kept glancing at each other and grinning knowingly, and Abigail was busy worrying about when she would finally have chance to talk to Ben about all the secrecy he was having. Kelsie was the only one of the group who was actually watching the fireworks, but even she wasn't paying any attention at all to the colorful display of light and sound. She was reliving the evening's events in her mind, a small smile on her face.

After an intense finale, which none of them watched, the show was over. They all started to stand up and stretch, but Ben asked them to sit back down. "I have something I need to say," he told them as he stood up. "Abi," he said, holding out a hand to help her to her feet. The other four looked on as he turned Abigail to face him, both her hands in his. Kelsie thought Riley's face would permanently stretch if he smiled any wider. He alone seemed to know what was going on, other than Ben himself.

"I've been waiting for the right time to say this," Ben continued. "And even if that time is not now, I couldn't wait another hour. Abigail," he said softly, looking directly into her eyes, "I met you nearly a year ago in that building, right over there. That same day, before Riley and I came to talk to you, we had gone to both the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. Neither of them believed us. I couldn't understand or explain then why it mattered to me so much what you thought of me. Everyone else in the country already thought I was crazy, why should I care what one more person thought? But I did care, more than I ever let on, and now I know why.

"Abi, I love you. I love everything about you. I love your mind, your strength, and your courage. I admire your focus and energy. I love your passion for history. I love the way your hair falls into your face when you're working. I even love your tendency to slip into German when you get really mad."

Everyone laughed at that. Ben dropped Abigail's hands then, and reached into his pocket. Getting down on one knee, he pulled out a small jeweler's box. He opened it and said slowly, "Abigail Ann Chase, will you marry me?"

Tears streaming down her face, Abi nodded. "Yes," she whispered, smiling and crying at the same time. Grinning in triumph, Ben slipped the ring onto her finger and rose to take her into his arms while the others clapped and cheered.

Abigail was sobbing openly now, but they were happy tears. "I was afraid you were seeing someone else," she confessed quietly to Ben, much to his amazement. She explained, "All those secrets with Riley, they were about this, weren't they? And that woman who called last week–"

"Worked at the jeweler's office and was double checking the size on the ring," he reassured her.

"Show us the ring!" Melissa begged.

Abigail gave her new fiancée a quick kiss before pulling away to show off the beautiful engagement ring. The band was white gold, and very simple. There were six tiny diamonds, three on either side of the much larger center diamond. If you looked at a certain angle, the main diamond seemed almost to have a glow about it, sort of a faint greenish tinge.

Riley gave Ben a congratulatory slap on the back. Larry looked as if he had recognized something and was trying to place where he'd seen it before, and Melissa was chatting excitedly with Abigail. Kelsie looked like she was going to be sick.

Melissa noticed it first. "Kelsie, what's the matter?" Kelsie took a step backward, eyes wide. "What's wrong?" Melissa repeated.

"Nothing," she replied in a strangled voice. "I – I've got to go." She turned around and ran, leaving everyone else in utter confusion.

Melissa started to go after her friend, but Riley stopped her. "I'll go," he said, and Melissa nodded. Riley headed in the direction Kelsie had run off to.

A/N: Dun, dun duuuuuuuuuuuuun! What's going on with Kelsie? Haha, you'll have to review to find out! Which reminds me, it's time for another NAME SUGGESTION CONTEST! I need a girl's name this time, something Irish and royal-sounding. Winner gets points and cookies! (or should I go all-out and offer éclairs as the prize?) That's it! E-clairs to the winner! Haha, lol! Like E-mail, but it's E-clairs, get it? Never mind...

Oh yeah, I was going to explain pineapple! Has anyone seen the Crocodile Hunter youtube video? If you have, you'll understand the pineapple comment from last chapter. If you haven't seen it, it's at:

h t t p / w w w . y o u t u b e . com / watch ? v S M M 2 Y g c A H b o

(take out the spaces) If you have seen it or check it out and still don't get it, e-mail me.

Oh, and hiccups too! You know what? I think I'm going to wait on that. Keep you guessing. I'll explain it next chapter if I get enough reviews...(hint hint)

So...REVIEW! please?