A/N: Reviewers seem to like this one, which is very pleasing. I hope that those who don't normally read this sort of fiction continue to enjoy this story. and to those who are going to seek out ERB's "A Princess of Mars" or re-watch "John Carter," I hope you enjoy them. Whether yiu fall into one of these group or not, thanks for the review.

Thanks once again to MarkeyDeSad for the beta, which he managed in spite of being incredibly busy at work.

So, Chuck has been transitioned to the newly discovered exoplanet, by a means none of us know. However, he is not on his own, having met the beautiful S'ra. We can all imagine her as the beautiful Sarah Walker, and the name does sound like hers. They are now walking together as she tries to get home.

Exo
Chapter 2: Journey's Start

Chuck was glad of the moss he was walking on. If it wasn't there, he was sure his feet would be bleeding by now.

They'd been walking for probably two Earth hours without stop. This amazing woman could just keep going and going. However, now she had stopped. She pointed down to the ground and dropped down, sitting cross-legged.

She kept the short skirt from rising up but he still got an amazing view of those long legs of hers. He wasn't intending to look, but couldn't take his eyes off of them.

She obviously noticed and traced where he was looking, or rather trying not to look. Rather than being offended, she appeared amused.

He felt embarrassed at being like this. He'd never looked so openly at a woman's body before. His sister had brought him up better than that. However, this woman was so captivating, so stunning, everything about her drawing his attention, but those very shapely legs that went on and on, seemed the most captivating. Other than her beautiful face and eyes, of course, but somehow it seemed ruder to stare at her face than her legs. He didn't know why.

She chuckled. A real chuckle, just like he would hear back home. Then, he could see she made a decision.

She lifted her left leg off the ground and pointed at it. She looked at him, saying, "Lact." He looked at her for a while and she repeated while pointing at her leg again. He realized she was trying to teach him the word for leg. He repeated it to her and then used the English word, "Leg."

The smile and how her eyes lit up was something he would always remember. The first word they had shared. The fact that it was about her lovely leg was not lost on him.

He waved at his whole body and then pointed to his chest. "Chuck." He hoped she understood that was him, not just his chest.

She seemed to understand that was his name and pointed at him, saying, "Chuck." Hearing her say his name was magical. He nodded, pointing again at himself. "Chuck." Then he pointed at her raising his brow, saying nothing.

If she understood, he hoped that, if nothing else, he would be able to say her name.

After two hours of walking, she had been ready and thought he would also want a rest, so she'd pointed at the ground and sat. He did too.

He'd been casting glances her way for a lot of their journey so far. She was used to this, as she always caught the attention of men. She knew she was attractive, but often tried to hide that fact. Here, she couldn't easily do that, but still felt comfortable with this unusual man. If she was honest, she probably looked at him just as much.

On sitting, he'd kept trying not to, but couldn't seem to help himself from looking at her legs. This was a bit surprising as they were probably the feature most men disliked about her. They made her taller than them, making them feel belittled by her height.

Of course, this man was quite a bit taller than she was. He certainly seemed to like her legs, if the glances were anything to go by.

She looked over at his legs. They were long too. She found the idea of a man taller than her quite appealing, but then thought that was inappropriate in their current situation.

However, as he kept looking at her legs, she decided that would be the first word she taught him. The idea was a bit amusing. "What was the first word you leaned?" and he would reply "Leg. It enabled me to tell her what I liked best about her." She chuckled at that thought.

Anyway, she lifted her leg up in the air and pointed at it, saying the word for it.

He looked blankly at her, so she repeated it and this time he grasped what she was doing. He said it back to her, which felt like a huge achievement. She grinned and he grinned back, saying something she didn't recognize. That must be the word for leg in his language.

Then, he waved at himself before pointing at his chest. "Chuck." That must be his name or maybe the word for man. She guessed the former and repeated it back to him while pointing at him. He nodded and repeated the word while still pointing at his chest.

He then pointed at her, saying nothing, but he raised one eyebrow. He was obviously asking her name. She said it immediately, "S'ra."

He beamed at her and repeated what he thought it sounded like, "Sarah."

It wasn't exactly right, but she liked how it sounded so she nodded. Nodding seemed to be the universal way of indicating a positive response.

So, now they knew each other's names. She was enjoying this, so continued for a further hour with this training until she realized how much time they had been doing it. She stood and pointed that they should continue walking. He stood too and slowly nodded, with one last look at her legs.

She smiled and started walking again.

As they continued their journey. S'ra continued the teaching. It helped pass the time, but more importantly, it got them closer to being able to converse; something she was desperate to do.

Chuck, as she now knew him, was a very good student. He not only remembered things she taught but grasped their meaning quickly. So, when she tried verbs, it was little problem. Of course, there was little to see or do out here, so they ran out if things to say quickly. Concepts were not really possible, though; not without context.

He had focused, at least initially, on body parts. He already knew leg, but expanded that to plural, legs. Then, he moved on to arms, neck, ears, nose, eyes and even cheeks. He spent some time on her mouth and lips. She found that somewhat endearing.

Then she noticed it was getting darker. The sun was setting. When it got dark, the temperature would drop rapidly.

There was nothing near them to offer any cover. In the distance, she could see the Garverd mountains. They would have to cross that area, which would provide shelter, but also danger. That was not relevant tonight, as that mountain range was too far away. They would have to just lie down and sleep where they stopped, out in the open.

She looked at her companion. Would Chuck feel the cold?

She also realized they hadn't eaten or drunk anything since they started out. He hadn't said anything and nor had she. They had been so engrossed in 'the lesson.'

He was carrying nothing but his spear, so obviously had no food or water. What had he expected to do?

She stopped him and asked, "Food? Drink?" Of course, this meant nothing to him as she hadn't taught him the words. So, she had to act out the actions of eating and drinking. He shook his head. And spread his hands wide, both gestures that seemed to mean the same thing for each of them. However, she wasn't asking if he had any, because he obviously didn't, but whether he wanted any. She decided to just offer him some. She pulled off her backpack, crouched down and opened it, reaching in.

He watched her with evident interest. She knew her legs were a distraction for him, something she felt pleased about for some unknown reason, so she kept them out of sight, holding the pack in front of them.

She pulled out her bottle of water and offered it to him. He hesitated, but then took it from her. He examined it, clearly trying to work out how to open it. She took it back, showed him how, then handed it back to him. He took a fairly long drink then passed it back to her, indicating she should drink too. That pleased her. He obviously wasn't selfish.

Once she'd had a drink, she sealed it up and put it down. Reaching into the bag again, she pulled out two bars of bract, handing one to him.

This sharing was obviously going to deplete her supplies long before reaching the city, especially at the slower pace of the travels caused by frequent stops, but she didn't begrudge him at all. He had not only saved her life, but was making the journey much more interesting. Trudging along on her own would have reminded her of her life.

She gazed at him while he ate, wondering what a life with him would be like. Then, she realized what she was thinking. She'd known him for less than a day and she seemed to be considering a lifetime with him? That was ridiculous. Just because he was attractive in a way she had never expected, and also had saved her, it was foolish to think they could be compatible. He seemed to know so little and was completely impractical, so maybe not that clever either.

Looking at how he was dressed, she was sure that his covering would not last the whole journey. What would people think of her walking in with a completely naked man? She would have to help him find better clothing. It also drew her back to her earlier thoughts about sleeping out here. She may even have to share her blanket with him. That meant sleeping very close together. That thought was both appealing and quite frightening. She never slept with anyone. She'd had sex before, but always left the man before sleep. This would be a very different experience. None of the former and a lot of the latter.

Unless, of course, he didn't feel the cold and just slept near her.

Chuck was so happy that they had stopped and she had offered him food and drink. He hadn't brought anything with him other than his spear.

As someone who had easy access to both food and drink at home, he wasn't used to thinking of such things. He had been searching for food in the forest, but on seeing S'ra had completely forgotten about it. When she started teaching him her language, he was engrossed and had no need for sustenance other than hearing her voice and learning about her world. However, when she offered her bottle to him, his body's needs became very apparent. He didn't know how much water she had, or how long it would need to last, so he only drank what he needed.

The mountain range was closer now, but still looked to be a way off. It was also starting to get dark. Those two facts meant that they would need to sleep on this moss covered plain tonight. He wondered if that was why she was looking at him strangely.

For a woman to sleep with a stranger must be a frightening prospect. He wouldn't try to do anything untoward, but she didn't know that. Somehow, he needed to get that across to her. However, he hadn't learned enough of her language for that yet.

On top of that concern, they were both very exposed out here. Just because they hadn't seen any wildlife since setting out didn't mean there wouldn't be any at nighttime. He would do his absolute best to protect this angel, but would have to stay awake for that. Maybe that was the solution to both problems.

He resorted to a combination of gestures and words to convey his message.

At first, Chuck seemed to be trying to tell her that he wanted her to leave him. She couldn't understand that. Surely he could understand that two people together were safer than alone.

Then she realized that was wrong. He just didn't want her near him overnight. That hurt for some reason, but he didn't stop gesticulating. After a while she understood what he meant. He wasn't going to try to sleep with her, but would stand guard. This amazing man, who must be just as tired as she, was offering this to her.

She really needed to teach him some more words. So, she started with yes and no. Hard to convey but she eventually managed it. Need and want we're even harder, but after thirty minutes, she was able to convey that protection was not needed out here, but rest was. She lay down on the moss and pretended to sleep, then pointed to him to do the same.

By now it was becoming quite dark and chillier than before. She thought that they should both sleep well after all that walking. She drifted off to sleep and dreamed of a tall man standing guard over her with spear in hand.

S'ra woke to the sound of Chuck whimpering in his sleep.

None of the moons were out at the moment, so the only light came from rest of the night sky. In that light, Chuck was a faint shape only a short distance from her. She pushed her blanket off her and crawled over to him, noting the near freezing temperature of the air.

She hesitated before touching his shoulder because it was bare. She had not touched naked male flesh since she had broken off her relationship with B'rack two years ago. Somehow, this seemed intimate, but shouldn't. She was just checking Chuck was alright.

She placed her palm down against his shoulder and was shocked at how cold his flesh felt. She rushed back to her blanket and brought it over and laid it over him. His fingers instinctively grasped it, pulling it tighter to him.

She watched him until his shivering and whimpering died down.

She placed the back of her hand against his brow. His flesh felt slightly warmer. The blanket was definitely what he had needed.

Unfortunately, that left her with no covering. She would cope somehow. She lay down close to him but facing away. She was cold, but also tired and eventually dropped off to sleep again.

Chuck woke when the sky brightened. He thought it was daytime until he spotted the large moon in the sky. Bright, white and lighting up the plain.

He then noticed he was wrapped in a blanket. He had gone to sleep uncovered, so S'ra must have done this.

He rolled over to look in her direction and was in for a surprise. She lay close to him with her back to him. The blanket she had wrapped around her gone, so that must be what she had placed on him. She was curled into a ball, probably to retain heat. Her bare legs tucked in close to her body and her arm wrapped around them.

This was his fault. She was cold because she had given up her blanket for him. He felt awful.
He knew from what his sister had taught him, plus basic common sense, that two bodies together warmed each other up best.

He grabbed the blanket and approached her. He very quietly lay down behind her and eased closer. He didn't want to wake her unnecessarily.

He gently pushed her shapely ankles down so that he could get his knees in behind her legs. The blanket, he pulled over the two of them and rested his arm over her side within it. He basically enveloped her. The only part of her flesh that pressed against his was her legs, which felt very cold. He really hoped they would warm up.

She hadn't woken at all. He hoped she didn't object when they woke.

Her gentle breathing helped lull him back to sleep.

S'ra woke feeling much warmer than she expected. She was surprised that she had gotten to sleep in the cold, but certainly never expected this.

Then, she realized she had a body pressed up behind her, right against her. It matched her position exactly. More than that, an arm was draped over her at waist level. The hand, however, was not touching her, but the moss in front of her stomach.

She tensed as fear set in, but then she focused on the position of that hand which was attempting no form of intimacy. She also remembered where she was and who with her. This had to be Chuck. He had wrapped himself close to her and, she noticed, covered the two of them with the blanket.

She realized he was doing this so their combined body heat kept the two of them in warmth. It was a good idea and one she had thought of before they settled down, just not when she found him freezing earlier. Her tension eased as she thought this through.

Something else was worrying, however. She hadn't woken when he did this. Where were her sharp senses? If this had been most of the men she had been around, she would have been at least groped, possibly a whole lot more.

She felt another wave of gratitude toward Chuck. He had done something else to make her life better and hadn't taken advantage of her.

She again thought about his situation. Why was he virtually naked and armed with just a branch which he used as a spear? It was as if he had just woken in that forest from somewhere else. She had to get his story, but that would definitely need more teaching. They also needed to find him some more clothing and definitely something for his feet.

However, for now, they could just lie here in this warmth.

She reached for his hand on the moss and pulled it toward her, placing it against her stomach. It felt good there, right somehow. Just as the rest of his body felt against her. She eased off her sandals and pressed her feet against his. That felt wonderful. She never had warm feet but could feel that becoming a reality.

She sighed contentedly and drifted back to sleep.

Chuck was disoriented again when he woke. Where was he? And why was he lying like this with wonderfully smelling hair against his face. Then, he remembered last night.

In the light that was creeping under the blanket, he found himself staring at her golden tresses in front of him.

He was spooning the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen. What was more, she had pulled in his hand, that had been carefully placed away from her, and it now was pressed against her belly with her hand holding it there. It was an intimate situation, but hadn't started out that way. He absolutely loved it.

Fortunately, he never suffered what some men did when waking, or this would be very awkward. He had drunk yesterday, but his body must had just soaked it up and he felt no pressure in his bladder.
He just lay there relishing how this all felt.

Then, S'ra stirred. She released his hand and pulled away slightly. She twisted around so she could face him. He worried that she was going to be upset and really wished he could explain his actions. However, those worries suddenly seemed unnecessary. She smiled at him.

How anyone could wake after a night lying as she had and be able to look so perfect was quite beyond him.

She said something he didn't recognize but guessed it was "good morning" or some equivalent.
He said it back to her. He knew they should get up and start their day, but he couldn't do that right now. He just gazed at perfection, inches from him. He could easily fall for his woman and, knowing him, probably was starting to.

S'ra had woken holding his hand to her stomach. It felt so good lying like this with him. His bare legs pressed against hers felt great too, and her feet were warm, pressed against his.

They still had at least three more nights before they reached the city. Whether they managed to find him clothes or not, they were definitely sleeping like this. She had no doubts in her mind. All of a sudden, sleeping through the night with someone else was an attractive prospect.

She pulled away and twisted around to look at Chuck, as she had recognized his change of breathing and knew he was awake.

Those dark eyes of his stared into hers. She loved their color and how they seemed to look all the way into her soul. If this was an intimate moment, it would be perfect for her to cup his cheek with her free hand, reach over and kiss him. However, it was not, so she didn't.

She smiled at him and noticed how he reacted to that. He obviously liked her, which she found very pleasing; she liked him too.

She greeted him with, "Good morning." She hadn't taught him this, but he correctly guessed the meaning of the words and repeated them back to her.

That temptation to kiss him rose again, but she squashed it down.

They ought to rise, have breakfast and set off again, but, for now, she lay here, gazing into those eyes. He seemed no more eager to move.

Yes, she definitely liked Chuck.

A/N: Their journey is far from over. More to come.

Thoughts?

Glossary

B'rack – S'ra's previous boyfriend (we never meet him)

Bract – nutritious bars carried to eat when access to other food hard to achieve

Frakku – purple-skinned savages

Garverd – mountain range

Ixtag – black-colored predator that live in forests

Vetia – leaves of this plant very flexible and used by Chuck to cover himself. Sap burns people from the planet but didn't affect him

Xynth – flying predator