EDIT: I forgot to upload Chapter 8! . I apologize for any confusion I may have caused! Thanks to A Catholic Girl for pointing out my mistake!

Well, this is probably going to be my last update until next Friday or Saturday. You see, I'm going off to camp on Sunday, and won't be back until the 11th. I assure you an update will be worked on, and I should be able to get it up at the end of the week.

I hope you enjoy this chapter! Go read it!

-OoOoOoO-

The very next day, we were already back in Washington, and we had just arrived at Patrick's house. We made our way up the long sidewalk, and it seemed awfully familiar.

"Abigail!" Patrick hugged the blonde woman, who greeted him back. "Good to see you two together again." I could've sworn I heard Nicole hissing something to herself angrily.

"We're not." Ben said shortly, and that was the end of it. Riley attempted to pull his many suitcases up the stairs, but spilled them everywhere. I laughed, picking one of them up.

"What is all this stuff, honey?"

"You have to be prepared for everything when you're treasure-hunting." He responded, pulling the rest of his suitcases inside. We toted our things up the stairs to the room Riley and I would share and set everything up. Riley grabbed his laptop and headed downstairs to show the photo to Patrick.

We sat together at the dining room table, huddled around the computer.

"I can't read the whole, but I can tell you that these are definitely pre-colonial Native American markings…" Patrick told us.

"Easily 500 years old." Ben said quietly.

"What I'm wondering is how the Queen of England got a hold of this." Nicole sighed.

"I can identify…" Patrick interrupted. "One symbol…" He pointed at the screen, zooming in on a part of the plank. "Do you know what that is?"

"It looks like some sort of temple…" I mused.

"This symbol means Cibola."

Ben exhaled sharply, closing his eyes. "The City of Gold…" He murmured to himself. "The City of Gold…"

"The City of Gold?" Nicole repeated. Ben didn't responded, but walked into the living room. He looked as if he were in a trance. The rest of us glanced at each other, following him. He looked at the title of the fireplace mantle, picking up a book. We seated ourselves in the living room, listening as he began speaking.

"1527, a Spanish ship wrecked off the Florida coast." He started, his voice soft and entrancing. "There were only four survivors. One was a slave named Esteban, who saved a local tribe's dying chief. As a reward, he was taken to their sacred city, a city built of solid gold."

Everyone looked hypnotized as he continued, especially Nicole. A small smile was forming on her lips as she listened.

"Later, when Esteban tried to find the city again, he never could. But the legend grew, and every explorer came to the new world in search of it. When General Custer's search for gold ended with his last stand at Little Big Horn, it became clear; none would ever find it."

He snapped the book shut and replaced it on the shelf.

"Can you imagine if the Confederates had found the City of Gold?" Nicole breathed. "They'd have completely destroyed the Union."

"Which is why Thomas burned the pages." Patrick pointed out. He stood from his chair, and began to walk away.

"I'm going to go talk to her." Ben said softly.

Patrick froze in his tracks.

"You're coming with me."

"No!" Patrick walked around to where Ben stood.

"Hey, no one else can translate it." The younger Gates reasoned.

"There are others. There are several others!" Patrick argued. I looked on, curious, as the argument began.

"For ancient Native American? There's no one better."

"Who?" Riley asked, sounding rather confused. Abigail shook her head, holding up a hand in Riley's face as if to say "I'm not telling."

"Look, Ben, I can't go with you." Patrick said. "It's been what? 25 years?"

"32." Ben replied, sounding rather bitter.

"That long?" Patrick sounded surprised. "There's a reason we haven't spoken in 32 years!"

"Guys!" Nicole interrupted, standing between the 2 men. "You don't need to fight about this. We need to figure out what's on that plank before Wilkinson does. I say Emily's our only shot."

Patrick sighed, shrugging his shoulders, while Ben looked thankful.

"What is she talking about?" Riley asked.

"Ben's mother." I smirked to myself. I could tell from the look on Patrick's face that he thought nothing good would come from a meeting Dr. Emily Appleton. "Looks like we're paying a visit to the University of Maryland."

-OoOoO-

"Will you relax? Everything's going to be fine." Ben attempted to calm his father, who had become rather tense ever since we had arrived on the campus.

"Maybe you're right." Patrick shrugged. "It's been a long time. Maybe she lost her memory and she won't recognize me."

"That's the spirit!" Nicole replied with a hint of sarcasm in her tone. She walked up to the door to knock when it flew open to reveal an angry-looking college girl.

"I HATE her!" The girl stormed away in a huff.

"We're in the right place." Patrick smiled weakly.

I noticed Riley staring at the girl as she made her way through our little crowd, and I nudged him.

"It's not polite to stare." I reminded him. His face went slightly pink and he backed away.

"I think I'm just going to take myself out of the line of fire for this one guys…" He smiled nervously, lowering himself into a chair in the hall. I shrugged, following everyone else into Emily's office.

"Benjamin!" I heard Emily's voice on the other side of the room. "Abigail! What a surprise! Hello, sweetheart!" Her eyes fell on Nicole and me, and she smiled warmly. "You must be Kathleen and Nicole! I've heard so much about you!" She embraced the both of us, and I smiled, looking over her shoulder at Ben, who smiled and shrugged.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Dr. Appleton." I greeted.

"Oh, please, call me Emily." Then she looked behind us, catching sight of Patrick, and her smile disappeared. "Oh."

"See? One syllable, a knife in the heart!" Patrick motioned with his hands as he spoke.

"Oh no." Ben forced a smile.

"She can do that."

"I can locate the whereabouts of my toothbrush." Emily whirled on Patrick. I was surprised at how quickly a 32-year-old argument could be picked up in a matter of seconds.

"I was not the one who left the toothbrushes in Marrakech! I stowed them in the travel case as instructed!"

I sighed to myself, slipping out of the office, unnoticed by anyone. I sat down in a chair next to Riley, who looked rather distracted.

"What's the matter?" I touched his arm gently, and he jumped slightly.

"Hmm?"

"What's the matter?" I repeated.

"Oh, it's nothing." He lied. I sighed.

"You're lying. You won't look me in the eye. Something's bothering you."

He bit his lips. "I just… I don't know if I want to do this anymore."

"What do you mean?" I questioned.

"I'm just getting tired of this. I mean, I'm constantly putting my life on the line, and there's chance we won't even win this thing. We'll either come back with the treasure, come back empty handed, or not come back at all. After what happened last time..." He paused, taking a deep breath and screwing his eyes shut. "I don't that to happen again. I don't want to have to put you through that again. The end doesn't justify the means for me anymore."

"Riley…" I started, stroking his hair. "What happened last time..." I swallowed hard. "It was my fault."

"How can you even say that?" He asked softly, looking surprised.

"It's true! If I'd kept my damn mouth shut, that never would've happened. Afterwards, I felt so guilty… I had nightmares…" I could feel hot tears forming behind my eyelids. "God, if anything happened this time I could never forgive myself."

"If anything happened to me it wouldn't be your fault." He whispered. "But what about you? If anything were to happen to you, I'd be totally responsible for it."

"No, don't…"

"Ever since you came back I swore to God that I would protect you, and I'm keeping that promise. You're more important to me than any treasure we'll ever find. "

I looked up, totally surprised. "You mean that?"

"Of course. Ben can have this treasure, I don't care. You're my treasure, and that's all that matters to me."

I could see a sincerity in his eyes that I'd never seen before. I slowly kissed him, taking in every part of the moment. It was one of those things you always remember. I pulled away, smiling at him, feeling almost feather-light. I buried my face in the crook of his neck, taking in his scent.

"I love you." I whispered.

He didn't reply, and he didn't have to. The words he'd spoken before were enough.

A minute later, the door to Emily's office opened, and Ben was the first to emerge, looking rather sour. Nicole, Patrick, and Abigail followed. Riley sighed, taking my hand and following the rest of the group.

"At least we know where the rest of the map is." Ben said as we stepped outside.

"What? You know where it is? Why didn't you tell me?" Patrick asked, sounding surprised.

"Because…" Ben began, whirling you around. "You obviously have a tendency to OVERREACT!"

I winced slightly at Ben's sharp, angry tone. Nicole put a hand on his arm, trying to relax him.

"I'm sorry." Patrick said, looking rather sheepish. Ben took a deep breath.

"So am I."

"So where is it?" Nicole asked.

"We think the map may have been divided between the two Resolute desks."

"The Resolute desk?" Patrick raised his eyebrows. "THE Resolute desk? The President's desk?"

"The President?" Riley looked just as surprised. "Which President? Our President?"

I squeezed his hand softly. "Unfortunately, yes."

"But that means… So we have to…?" He let out an exasperated sigh. "The White House?"

"The Oval office…" Ben corrected. "…To be exact."

-OoOoOoO-

Aw, that was sweet. I seriously almost cried. I'm a sucker for this romance stuff… :P

A review for my last update before camp?