White Out

By Andie O'Neill

Summary: Indiana Jones' biggest regret is about to be erased.

A/N: The escape! Be aware guys that the story will be changing just a bit… a little more than a bit actually! Hey, it can't all be the same! Oh and this chapter is a bit short, but I promise the next one will be longer! ;)

Disclaimer: I don't own it… but I certainly wish I did!

Part Eight

Indiana Jones had been in a lot of tight spots over the years, but being tied up while the room was on fire had been one of the worst. Indy hadn't been all that eager to repeat it, and had therefore prepared just in case his original plan failed, which it had. He never should have left Marion alone, especially with Elsa. Squirming he adjusted his arm rubbing his sleeve until the object he'd hidden there could fall into his awaiting hands. When the cold metal fell into his grip and smiled. "Get ready guys, we're getting out of here."

"How?" Marion asked him, not bothering to hide her annoyance. It was obvious she'd yet to let go of his kiss with Elsa. He understood why she was angry, he should have pulled away, should have fought her harder. Elsa was a hard woman to forget unfortunately, Nazi or not, she'd changed in the end. She died because of her obsession with the Grail, a waste if ever he saw one.

"Knife… in my hand. Don't move, I'm cutting the ropes," he told them both as he began to cut through. He was almost there.

"They searched you high and low, how did you manage to hide it?" his father had asked in astonishment.

Indy simply shrugged. "Just lucky I guess," he'd lied before the rope finally gave way and he was freed from the restraints. He immediately moved on to Marion, working on cutting her free.

Marion gave him a hard stare, disbelief written all over her face. "Yeah… let's just hope your luck doesn't run out," she told him.

Indy tried to ignore her stare, and after cutting her free he worked on his father. "Now what?" his father asked once he was free, rubbing his wrists which were sore from the rope.

"We go to the fire place and get our stuff back," Indy explained with a smile.

"The fire place?" Marion questioned, folding her arms. "Jones, have you lost it? The only thing over there is burnt logs and ash."

Indy rushed over to the fire place, moving the metal rod that would trigger the fireplace. He gave a wave to a dumbfounded Marion as the fire place turned and he was sent to the other side.

Marion Ravenwood had always been smart girl. She knew Indy wasn't telling her the whole truth, but she'd never expected the fireplace to transform into something completely different, with Indiana on the other side. From the sound of things, he wasn't sneaking around quietly either. She could hear faint sounds of gunfire and screams. For a minute she was worried that Indy was hurt, until of course she saw the fire place return, with Indy holding his gun and whip. He threw his father his bag and umbrella. "Come on!" he shouted.

Marion rushed to the fire place with Henry and the scene changed moments later to what looked like a secret Nazi radio room. "You knew this was here," she said in wonder.

Indy shook his head. "I heard some officers talk about it earlier, but I wasn't sure if it was here or not," was his weak explanation.

Marion was too smart to believe him, he was selling her a load of crap and he knew it. The only question was, how had he'd known about the secret passage way? As he led them, they soon reached a dead end. "Dead end," she said with a worried sigh. "There's gotta be a way out of here."

Indy took a seat in a chair nearby which rested near a circular arrangement of inlaid stones on the floor. It was no time to be sitting down, and Marion was about to tell him so when she saw him move the chair back. Suddenly the stones slid downward and transformed into a spiral staircase. Indiana grinned smugly at her. "Let's go!"

More motorcycles. Marion held onto Indy as if there was no tomorrow as he drove down the dusty road at speeds that she would call crazy if not for the Nazi's on their backs. Henry sat in the side care, his leather bag and umbrella resting in his lap. She was seriously getting tired of the motorcycles. Only two motorcycles had kept up with Jones, avoiding the rough terrain and Indy's cleaver strategies. There was a barricade ahead, but that didn't seem to deter Indiana for a second as he sped up even faster, going full speed toward the barrier.

"Halt! Halt!" a guard shouted at Indy, jumping out of the way as he went flying through the barrier, which shattered. On the way he grabbed a pole while an oncoming soldier took out his machine gun and aimed at him. The end of the pole hit the Nazi square in his chest and he flew off his motorbike. Indy dropped the pole just as soon as it made contact with the soldier. Marion gulped from behind, wondering if she'd live to watch her son grow up. Her death grip on Indy was tightening by each second. The motorcycle that's occupant had been removed crashed into the other two behind them… before blowing up. Marion couldn't help but scream.

Finally Indy slowed down, and eventually stopped at a wooden sign, one arrow pointed to Berlin, and the other pointed to Venedig. "Now what do we do?! We need to recover my diary," Henry Sir exclaimed, checking his time.

Indy smiled. "We don't need it, Dad."

"There is more in the diary that we need if we're going to get through the final challenge!"

"What final challenge?" Marion asked.

Henry held up three fingers. "Three devices of such lethal cunning!"

"Booby traps," Indy explained.

"Oh yes," agreed his father with glee. "But I found the clues that will safely take us through, in the Chronicles of St. Anselm."

Marion was curious. "What are they?"

When Henry didn't respond, her worry returned. What was she getting herself into?

"I know what to do," Indy finally spoke. "We'll be okay without the diary. I know about the challenges, and we have nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about?" Marion questioned. "Another lucky guess?"

Indy rolled his eyes. "I've studied the diary, and I know what to do. I need to be humble before God, I need to walk on the stones with God's name, and I must make a leap of faith to the chamber where the Grail has been hidden. We don't need it. We do however need Shallah." Indy started the engine, ignoring the stunned look on his father's face. "Let's go," he said and turned the motorbike toward Venedig.

It was getting dark, and Indiana had made the decision to camp for the night. Marion hadn't been so sure until she saw the bag Indy'd snatched and put behind the bike which carried the essentials they'd need to set up camp. It would take at least a day or two to reach Iskenderun and meet up with Shallah; they could use the rest before their journey would begin. Still, Marion found it strange that things just seemed to be falling into place. It was like Indy was always one step ahead, and she'd never seen that before. Normally he was just one step behind. What had changed? Marion stared at the fire Indiana had started using Elsa's lighter. Henry Sir was already asleep, exhausted by his ordeal more than likely. She was surprised that she wasn't nearly as tired. In fact she felt wide awake. She missed her son, and it was starting to almost hurt not having him with her. She wasn't used to motherhood, hadn't even had time to really get used to the idea, but it was obvious she'd already grown attached. She couldn't stop thinking about little Henry. She couldn't stop thinking about his future as well as hers. Did it truly lie with Indy, or was she making a mistake she'd regret later on? She'd never actually gotten the chance to talk to him about such feelings, though it seemed Indy truly wanted to be with her.

He'd told his father she was his future daughter-in-law, that had to count for something… meeting the folks and all that. Still, his kiss with Elsa made her wonder just what was going on. Did Indy really want to be with her, or was he only with her so he could be a father to his son? That question bothered her the most… because she wasn't sure she knew the answer. Indiana had returned after hiding away their transportation. It was cold and Marion was wrapped tight in a blanket they'd found in the pack. Indy's father was wrapped in a blanket of his own… only two. The rest had been mostly food and the like. Beyond the fire she watched Indiana walk toward her, walking around the flames before taking a seat by her side. "We're set for the night. The fire should keep any creatures away and we have enough food to last us awhile," he told her.

Marion could see him smile at her, but she couldn't seem to muster a smile in return. Her questions needed answers, and she had no idea how to get them. She wanted to go home, to what was familiar. She wanted to drink tea with Oxley and hear military stories from Colin. She wanted to be home.

"What's wrong?" he finally asked. "You aren't still mad about that kiss are you? I promise you Marion, I did fight her. I pulled away."

Marion looked up at him, staring into his eyes. He looked genuinely worried. "No… I know. I just…" she trailed off, unsure of how to phrase her words. "Indy, how did you know?"

Suddenly he seemed confused. "Know what?"

"About Elsa? You gave me the gun… as if you knew she would betray us. You hid away that knife as if you knew you'd need it. And you hid away the diary as if you knew the Nazi's would find it if you didn't. How did you know?"

Indy frowned, shaking his head. "I didn't know… just a hunch. Just my luck I guess."

Marion rolled her eyes, tired of his lies. She knew him too well. "That's bull and you know it. You've never been that lucky in your life."

Suddenly Indy grew quiet for a second, serious unlike she'd never seen him. "I was damned lucky the day I met you," he told her, looking away once the words had left him.

Marion was surprised by his words. They'd been unexpected of course, but the depth of emotion in his eyes said what words could not. He meant it. He felt lucky to have known her. Suddenly her fears began to melt away. "Indy… I need you to tell me the truth. I need to know how you know these things, because it doesn't make any sense. It's not possible, yet it is and I just can't figure it out. You aren't the man you used to be and if we are going to try this… us I mean, I want you to be honest with me. I don't want there to be secrets between us."

"You'd think I was crazy," he warned her.

Marion smiled. "I already think you're crazy, so you really don't have much else to lose."

Jones laughed, taking her hand in his as he looked at the fire. She could hear the fire crackle, its warmth keeping the chill away. It was almost a minute before Indy spoke. "Henry loves motorcycles… he has one. He's good with it too… kinda reminds me of myself at his age. He's got a lot a spirit and I know it comes from you… especially his mouth. You… you haven't changed a bit. You're still just as much of a fire cracker as you ever were."

"Indy, Henry's only a few weeks old," she reminded him, confused by his words.

Indiana shook his head. "It's 1957… you were kidnapped and the kid came to me. You told him I could help. I didn't know it was you. I hadn't seen you in so long… all the feelings came back the moment I saw your face. I still loved you, Marion. Despite the years, I always loved you. Then you told me Henry was my son… only he didn't call himself Henry. He called himself Mutt… Mutt Williams. He was raised as Colin's son, and apparently he had a pretty good dog too. Made it easy to believe he was mine. At first I was angry that you hadn't told me, but I knew the only one I should have been angry with was myself. I'd been the one to let you down, to leave you. Only I didn't just leave you… I left Mutt too."

She didn't understand. Maybe he really was going crazy. 1957? It didn't make sense!

"This time it was the Russians… fun little group they turned out to be. They took Oxley, threatened you, and almost got everyone killed. We won in the end, solved another mystery along the way. I only had one wish, but I never thought it'd come true. All I ever wanted from the moment I saw you again was a second chance to make things right. I never got to watch my boy grow up… never got to be there for you when he'd break an arm while riding his bike, or took his first steps… said his first word. I missed it all… I just wanted a second chance. I just never thought I'd get it. This was my chance to erase my mistakes… and probably make some new ones, but at least I'd be making them with you than without. We found Akator, but I found way more than that on the way."

Marion froze. Akator. She'd heard Oxley talk about it a million times, heard his theories over and over again over the years. Crystal skulls and Akator. Still, he couldn't be serious. "You're from the future?" she asked. Yeah, he was nuts.

Indy smiled, obviously knowing what she was thinking. "What? I would think after having gone through what we went through in finding the Ark that you might actually believe me. You asked."

"Indy, that's crazy! You're crazy! That's science fiction!"

"Apparently not," he told her. "I know all these things because I went through them before. I knew you were pregnant with my baby because I saw him as a man, and you told me. I knew Elsa was a traitor because last time she betrayed me. I knew about those steps because I fell down them when my father sat in the chair and triggered them… still have the scars to prove it too. I knew about Colin because in my future you marry him. I know you got my letter and you through it away. I know when you found out you were pregnant you cried for days. Last time I was tied up with Dad and I used Elsa's lighter to try and get us free, only the whole room caught on fire and we moved over to the fire place to escape the flames, only I triggered something and it turned around to reveal a secret room, a Nazi radio room. I know about the challenges because I already went through them and survived. I knew the Nazi's might capture us so I hid away the diary back at that library where I knew it'd be safe. I've done all this before."

It did explain so much, but Marion was having a hard time believing him. Still, would he lie up something so insane? No, she knew he wouldn't. His eyes spoke the truth, and she knew she shouldn't doubt his words, no matter how crazy they sounded. With a sigh she squeezed his hand. "Let's hope things go better the second time around."

Indy smiled, kissing her lips. "As long as I have you and Henry… I'll be alright. We'll be alright. Trust me."

As insane as it was, she did trust him. She couldn't quite figure out why, but she knew it to be true. She trusted him, and she always would. "Okay."

They'd escaped. Indiana Jones, his father, and the woman had escaped. They still hadn't found the diary, but Donovan suspected Indiana knew exactly where it was. Still, they could find him no where, and they had no idea as to how to find him. Now they would never find the Grail! "You let them escape! I should kill you right now!" he shouted, steaming.

Vogel stood as straight as a wooden stick, eyes faced forward. "There may be another way."

"Another way? To find the Grail? We have no diary and you've let Indiana Jones and his father escape! There is no way now! We must find them! If we do not it will be your neck on the line! Do you understand me?!" he almost screamed at the Colonel.

With a sharp nod he stood impossibly straighter. Donovan turned away, walking toward the door. "Indiana Jones has a son."

That stopped Donovan in his tracks. He turned back around. "What did you say?"

"Apparently the woman traveling with him is the mother. Their child was just recently born. Marion Ravenwood resides in London where she delivered the baby," he reported.

Donovan shook his head, not yet ready to believe his luck had changed. "I saw no child… if he does exist, where is he?"

"I have already sent my men to find out. It is my guess that the child was given to someone they could trust, someone to look after the boy until they returned. We will find him. Henry Jones the Third. Indiana Jones will lead us to the Grail, or he will watch his infant son die in our hands," Colonel Vogel told him with a smug smile.

Donovan raised an eyebrow, smiling in return. "Find the boy, and whoever is taking care of him. Bring them to me. Well done, Vogel, it seems you have just saved your own life." Again he turned away from the Colonel and walked away.

To Be Continued…

A/N: Sorry it's so short, but I felt like being bad and leaving it here for now… Mwhahahahahaha!! :D