Chapter 33: Envoy's Arrival

              Bodan's jeep made it past Control Room 2, and the four unused offices, on the southern tip of the right portion of the island. It was quite dark now and the helicopter lights were easily seen, as it began its descent to Helipad 2. He wanted to be there a little sooner, but the security fence had given him some trouble, delaying him somewhat. Ethan had changed the code for the keypad, making it impossible for Bodan to get through. Daniel had changed it back once, using his extra laptop, but Ethan just reset it again, using the stolen laptop. After several minutes went by, Daniel was finally able to change it back, and make it stick. For some reason, Ethan didn't try changing it back the last time, so Bodan was able to put his code in and get through. Ethan had gotten himself busy with Jacob and Smith, so Bodan had gotten lucky.

              Bodan stopped in front of the helicopter, as the pilot turned off the machine, letting the propeller slow down. The pilot emerged from the cockpit and quickly opened the door for his passenger. Marcus Envoy slowly got out of the helicopter. He stayed hunched over slightly, making sure he wouldn't get clipped by the propeller, that was obviously way too high to even reach him. Bodan thought about how dumb the man was, as he got out of the jeep and walked toward Envoy.

              "Mr. Envoy. Welcome back, sir. What brings you here?"

              Envoy gave him a cynical look, as Bodan extended a hand to him. He shook it. Bodan had been the absolute best man for the job at hand. Envoy knew that, but on the other hand, Bodan seemed like such an insincere person. He knew Bodan could care less about him and that he, more than likely, wished that he hadn't came back at all.

              "Well, I hear we've had a little trouble with the . . . ," he was going to say hostages, but changed his mind, "the children."

              Bodan smiled. He wished this man would just get right back in the damn chopper and go away.

              "We did have a slight problem, sir. But now it's under control. The Murphy kids are very tricky, but we've been able to round them up."

              Envoy was nodding, as Bodan explained. He was staring at the large bandage on Bodan's face, as he continued to nod. He couldn't seem to get it out of his mind.

              "What happened to your face?"

              Bodan turned very serious. He gently touched his face.

              "Alexis Murphy," he said.

              "Looks like it might scar," Envoy said.

              "Yes, sir. It looks that way," Bodan said.

              Envoy began walking to the jeep.

              "Well, enough small talk, Patrick. Let's get a move on, shall we?"

              "Yes, sir. Everyone is waiting for us at the Visitors Center."

              "Very good, then."

              Bodan let Envoy go past him. He watched the pilot get back into the helicopter and start it up again. That meant that Envoy was planning on a long stay on the island. He stared at his employer's back for a moment, and then followed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

              Ethan led everyone down a narrow dirt path. He was moving very quickly. Ian was right behind him. He looked back and noticed that Lex was having a hard time keeping up, even with Tim helping her.

              "Ethan, slow down a little. We have a few wounded, you know."

              Ethan looked back and slowed his pace.

              "I'm sorry. It's just that we need to get into a building. And quick. Before Daniel figures out that I've doctored the cameras out on the pathway."

              Ian looked at him proudly.

              "You faked the cameras?"

              Ethan smiled and nodded. Ian laughed.

              "When we get home, I would love to know how you managed to learn all these things about computers," Ian said.

              "I've been fascinated with computers for about 9 years now," Ethan said, thinking. "It's been a long time since you've seen me, Ian."

              "We've got a lot of catching up to do, then," Ian said, smiling.

              Alan was keeping up pretty well. He invited himself into the conversation.

              "Where are we going?"

              "To the lodge. I have a nice little setup there. It was to be my safe house," Ethan answered.

              "What about the cameras?" Ellie asked. She was right next to Alan. He was holding her left hand, while she held her broken hand up to her body.

              "I have the cameras in the lodge preprogrammed to display an empty room. I have it on a loop. Daniel hasn't noticed it since I did it. It's been about 2 months," Ethan answered.

              "So we're going to crash at the lodge?" Jodie asked.

              It was getting very dark outside, and she didn't want to be outside after dark.

              "That's the plan," Ethan said. "There are two beds up there right now. We'll have to move a few more in there. It'll be fine because the cameras on the entire third floor are doctored."

              "So you were already planning on hiding out there?" Ian asked.

              "Yes. Henry Wu and I. Only he's dead now," Ethan said sadly, as he looked down.

              "We know that. Ian and I had found his journals in one of the offices," Ellie said.

              "We were hiding them there. It was all of the evidence that we were planning on giving to Mr. Hammond."

              Ian took a hand and patted his jacket.

              "Well, I have some of that evidence right here."

              "Good. At least we don't have to go over there," Ethan said, clearly happy.

              Ethan continued to lead the way, looking all around him, as they walked.

              "What are you doing?" Ian asked.

              "I'm looking for a suitable place to stop and make a phone call."

              "You can make a phone call from the computer?" Alan asked.

              "Yeah. Technology is a great thing."

              "In this case, I agree," Alan said, smiling.

              Ethan stopped.

              "Okay, here we go. This is good. I'll put a call through to Mr. Hammond's office," he said. He looked at Alan. "And you talk to him. All you have to do is talk into the tiny microphone positioned here." He pointed to a small hole at the top of the screen.

              Alan nodded. Ethan smiled and began to set up the call. It would take a little while to encrypt the outgoing call, so he began the tiresome work.

              "We need to tell Mr. Hammond to pick us up on the West Dock," Ethan said to Alan.

              "Why the West Dock, Ethan? Isn't the East Dock just right over there," Ian said, pointing.

              "Yes, it is. It's too close to the Main Control Room. That's where Bodan will set up camp. In the Main Control Room, so we should try to get as far away from it as possible."

              "Okay," Ian said, still not totally sure.

              "Plus, on the dinosaur portion of the island, the computers shut down for about 15 minutes at 11:00am for routine maintenance. It'll be a good time to send in the calvary."

              Ian nodded. This time, Ethan was satisfied that his step father was no longer unsure. He looked at Alan.

              "And, Dr. Grant. You'll only have about 4 minutes to complete the call before Daniel can trace it. So please hurry."

              Alan nodded again, as he waited for Ethan to finish typing the commands.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

              Jacob slowly woke up. He had been taken down by a couple of kids and he was infuriated. He sat up. There was a succession of taps coming from somewhere in the room, but he couldn't figure out where. As he looked around the room, he noticed Smith sprawled out on the floor. He was very close to one of the underwater viewing areas, and that's when he noticed a little bit of water leaking from the cracked reinforced glass.

              "Smith!" He yelled.

              Smith began to stir, just a little bit. Jacob was about to yell again, when he saw something quickly swim by the underwater viewing area. He stood up, and when he did, he felt completely dizzy. Those kids really had done a number on him. And Ethan. Ethan had been behind the attack. He would have to get even for that one, but right now he kept his eyes on the underwater viewing area. He could still hear the gentle tapping noise, coming from somewhere near Smith. He cautiously walked toward the fallen man. The closer he got to Smith, the louder the tapping noise became. He finally realized that it must have been coming from the water. He reached Smith and gently kicked at him, trying to wake him up.

              Smith stirred again, and then opened his eyes. He looked up at Jacob, who was looking through the underground viewing area.

              "Where are they? Do you know?"

              "No idea. Ethan managed to get them all out of here. That little bastard."

              Smith started to say something, but Jacob put a hand up, as he heard that tapping again.

              "What the hell is that?" He asked Smith.

              Smith shrugged his shoulders, as he attempted to get up. Jacob walked closer to the underwater viewing area. He was right in front of it now. The water was very murky, making it hard to see anything. He put his hands up to the glass and looked closely. The tapping noise stopped, as soon as he pressed up against the glass. Then he glimpsed a fast moving object swim by the other way. It was the adult Megalodon, and it surprised him enough to make him jump back.

              "What is it?" Smith asked from the floor.

              "That Meg. It's swimming very close to the glass here. If I didn't know better, I would think that it's upset."

              He was trembling, from that shark coming so close and so fast, but he continued to watch it. He walked closer to the glass again, as it disappeared into the murky water. About two seconds after it disappeared, he heard the tapping again. Now that he was right up against the glass, it sounded like the tapping was coming from below somewhere. He looked down. There was about 20 feet between the bottom of the Megalodon holding area and the underground viewing area. Jacob could easily see what the tapping noise was now. The baby Megalodon had been striking against the cement under the viewing area. It was ramming into it over and over again, while its mother continued to swim by. Jacob guessed that the larger shark was attempting to protect her offspring. He continued to look down, watching the smaller Meg hit the concrete. It might have been the baby, but it was still big enough to scare Jacob.

              While he was watching it, he didn't notice that its mother was coming, at full speed, straight toward the viewing area. He finally saw some movement in front of him and looked up, just in time, to see the adult Meg's giant snout come crashing into the glass. It hit with such force, the glass gave away and water rushed into the underground floor of the Visitors Center. Jacob dove to the left, as shards of very think glass were tossed around the room.

              Smith was still on the ground, having a hard time getting up. The water rushed over him and a shard of glass struck him in the side of the head, throwing him backwards. The glass had completely sheared off his right ear and there was blood flowing down the side of his head. He reached a hand up to where the pain was coming from, and when he realized he was missing an ear, he started to panic.

              Jacob saw what happened to Smith, but didn't try to help him. He was still in the corner, holding onto a railing, as the water rushed over him. The ceiling was about 7 feet high and the water had already reached about the halfway point. Jacob forced himself to get up and fight the current. He needed to get to the door. As he looked toward the door, he suddenly heard a siren. The door, to his horror, was closing. It was a safety mechanism, to seal off the room from the rest of the Visitors Center. For some reason, the siren had gone off late, which was a good thing for Jacob. He had a chance to get to the door, before it closed and sealed his fate. He attempted to make a straight path to the door, but the forceful water kept pushing him in an unwanted direction.

              Smith had managed to seek shelter behind a register counter, as the water continued to power its way into the room. He was bleeding very badly and was hunched down, almost ready to pass out. The water was getting very high and over his head, as his body began to float up with the rising water. He was getting more and more frightened, as he felt his mind drifting away.

              Jacob had made it to the door, but the effort left him very exhausted. The water was all the way to his neck, as he reached the door. He managed to squeeze through, before the door finally sealed shut. He stood, with his back against the door, trying to catch his breath and recharge. As he closed his eyes, he heard a different kind of noise, coming from the room he had just escaped. He quickly turned around, looked through the long glass window in the door, and saw something that he didn't expect. The baby Megalodon had made its way through the giant hole in the underwater viewing area, that its mother had made, and was swimming in the sealed up room. It was swimming methodically, looking for the scent of blood that it had picked up on. Jacob watched in awe, as the 20 foot prehistoric shark did its best to maneuver around all of the unfamiliar man made obstacles.

              Smith was out now, as the baby Meg came closer to the blood source. Jacob watched from the safety of the other side. He thought about pounding on the door and trying to wake Smith up, but he figured that it would be a better idea if the doomed man didn't know what was about to happen to him. He watched, as the baby Meg was finally able to find what it was looking for. It circled around its prey, and then, with a quick movement, thrust at Smith with its jaws open wide. It was able to clamp down on half of the man, taking his entire upper body into its mouth. After a quick feeding, the baby Meg went for the rest of its meal.

              Jacob looked away, as the baby Meg finished off Smith. He hid his body from view and, after a few seconds, decided to look again. He caught site of its tail, as it pushed its way back through the hole in the underwater viewing area, disappearing into the murky water. Jacob stopped himself from shaking, and then headed up to the first floor of the Visitors Center.

              He ran up the stairs and sprinted across the first floor, all the way to the side door. He wanted out of the Visitors Center, and that's all that was on his mind at the moment. He reached for the door handle, turned it, and jerked the door open. He didn't even see the two men on the other side of the door, as he ran directly into Bodan. Bodan was almost thrown to the ground.

              "What the hell are you doing, Jacob?"

              Jacob was still very much out of breath. He looked at Bodan, and then noticed that Mr. Envoy was with him. He tried to relax a little bit, as he explained the best that he could.

              "The baby Meg had broken through one of the underwater viewing areas. Smith is dead. Grant and the others got away, and Ethan is on their side now."

              Bodan nodded. That just about summed up the entire situation. He was afraid to look at Envoy, but he forced himself to anyway. Envoy was staring at Jacob, in a confused manner.

              "Ethan is working for the other side?"

              Bodan couldn't believe that Envoy was only concerned with the information about Ethan. He tried his best not to get angry, as that would just make things worse.

              "Yes, sir," Bodan answered, as he thought about what to do next. "Jacob, did the room seal?"

              "Yes, it did. I almost didn't get out."

              "Okay, good," Bodan said. He looked at Envoy. "Mr. Envoy, we should get to the Main Control Room. We should be able to monitor and handle everything from there, sir."

              "Very well, then, Patrick. Thank you."

              Bodan nodded as the three men got back into the awaiting jeep.

Chapter 34: An Unexpected Call

              John Hammond smiled, as the phone finally rang. He picked it up eagerly.

              "Hello. Hammond here."

              "Mr. Hammond, it's Roy. I've arrived at our destination, sir. Do you want me to go in?"

              "Is he home?"

              "Yes, sir. He's home and it looks like he's drinking."

              Just as Hammond was about to continue with his conversation, Henry walked in. He hurriedly walked over to Hammond's desk, with a very large smile on his face. Hammond noticed his excitement.

              "Roy, can you hold for just a minute. I have something urgent to tend to."

              "Sure, Mr. Hammond. I'll stand by."

              Hammond put Roy on hold, and then looked quizzically at Henry. Henry was beyond happy.

              "Sir, line 3. It's Alan Grant."

              Hammond had been sitting down, which was really good, because if he had been standing, he would have surely fell down. He quickly picked the phone back up and pushed line 3.

              "Alan?"

              "Yes, John."

              "Oh, my heavens. Am I glad to finally talk to you! Have you found Lex and Tim?"

              "Yeah, we did. And Jodie, too. We're all together and safe, for now."

              "That is such a giant relief. Where are you? Can you safely talk?"

              "Ethan is here with us and he says its safe to talk. We're heading to the lodge. We plan on sleeping there tonight, and then we're going to make our way to the West Dock."

              "Good, good. I'll send a team to get you out. What time?"

              Alan was quiet for a minute, as Hammond could hear him talking to the others.

              "How's 11:00am for you, John?"

              Hammond laughed.

              "Eleven is fine. Someone will be there at 11:00am, on the West Dock."

              "Ethan says that the computer system goes down for about 15 minutes, between 11:00am and 11:15am, so that would be the best time to meet. That way, they won't be able to detect a rescue party."

              "Sounds good. And by the way, how is young Ethan doing?"

              "He's fine, John. He saved our lives. All of us," Alan answered.

              Hammond smiled, as he realized that he had, indeed, picked the right man for the job. He was pleased that Ethan had come through with such flying colors. When he had told Ian about Ethan being on the island, Ian had been very angry at first, which was to be expected. But after a careful explanation, Ian had realized that it was Ethan who had wanted to go. It had been Ethan who had initially contacted Hammond, when Daniel had hired him to work the park systems. He had volunteered to gather evidence against Envoy. After a lot of convincing, he had finally succeeded in talking Hammond into the idea.

              "Alan, please be careful. I'll have somewhere there precisely at 11:00am."

              "I will, John. And don't worry, everyone is all right."

              "Thank God," Hammond sighed with relief.

              "You want to talk to Tim and Lex?"

              "Of course, if you have the time."

              "Ethan says we have about one minute left, before the signal can be traced."

              There was a slight pause, and then Hammond heard Tim's voice.

              "Tim, I am so glad that you're okay. I'm sending a rescue team in the morning."

              "I know, Grandpa. Thank you very much. I expected nothing less than that, sir."

              Hammond was about to say something, when he heard Lex's voice.

              "Grandpa, I only have about 20 seconds. I just wanted to say thank you and that I love you."

              "I love you, too, dear," Hammond said, his eyes tearing up.

              "Okay, good bye, Grandpa. I'll see you in the morning."

              Hammond heard the phone click, and then a few seconds later, there was a dial tone. He hung the phone up and looked at Henry. He grabbed a sheet of paper and quickly jotted down all of the details of the rescue mission and handed it to Henry.

              "Please, Henry. Get this information to our team on the Baja Peninsula, as soon as humanly possible."

              "Yes, sir," Henry said, taking the paper.

              "And Henry. Make sure they know how important the 11:00am pick up is. They only have a 15 minute window before the computer system comes back up."

              "Yes, sir. I will."

              Hammond watched Henry walk out of the room. He sat there quietly for a few minutes, gathering all of his thoughts. He suddenly remembered that Roy was on line 1. He picked the phone back up and pushed line 1.

              "Roy?"

              "Yes, sir."

              "Oh, good, you waited. Go in there. Go in there and explain to Mr. Degler, the terms of his . . . what should we call it? The terms of his surrender."

              "Yes, sir. I'll call you back when I'm finished."

              "I would expect nothing less, Roy."

              "Yes, sir," Roy said, hanging up the phone.

              Hammond sat in his office chair, smiling in a broad manner.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

              Roy got out of his rented car and walked up the driveway to Ellie and Mark's home. He reached the front door and knocked.

              Mark was sitting in his kitchen. He was slightly intoxicated, as he was talking into the phone.

              "Look, I don't care what you have to do, or what it might cost me. Figure out where my children are. Figure out where my psycho of a wife ran off to, and do it NOW!"

              He heard the persistent knocking, and finally got up.

              "Look, I'll have to call you back. You're worthless really anyway. I've offered to pay you a LOT of money to simply find out where my wife is. I'm giving up hope."

              He slammed the phone down and walked to the door. He could see the silhouette of a man outside. A very large man.

              "Who is it?"

              "I'm Roy Rogers, sir. From the John Hammond Foundation."

              Mark laughed at the man's name and began to whisper things to himself, as he fiddled with the locks.

              "Roy Rogers . . . where's Trigger?" Mark whispered, laughing to himself.

              He opened the door, clearly not thinking about the important name that the stranger had mentioned. As soon as Roy had access to the house, he pushed his way through, knocking Mark to the ground.

              "Mr. Degler. I'm here to make you an offer you can't refuse," he said, grinning.

              "What is this? What is going on?"

              Mark had been a little tipsy before he had opened the door, but now he was almost feeling completely sober.

              "Oh, I'm sorry. Let me start over," Roy said, leaning down to pick Mark up.

              Mark was easily handled by the large man. Roy was about 6'6" and pure muscle. Hammond seemed to hire a lot of men with those same size qualifications.

              "I'm Roy. You're Mark. And we're going to do business together."

              Roy made a fist and punched Mark square in the jaw, dazing him and knocking him down again. Mark looked up, as he held his jaw.

              "I don't understand."

              "Want me to explain again?"

              "NO! No, please."

              "You're a smart man, Mr. Degler. I'm sure you can figure out what's going on here."

              Mark was scared to death. He was beyond scared, as he was sure this man was going to kill him.

              "What do you want from me?" He asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

              Roy reached a hand into the inside of his jacket. Mark, who thought he was going for a gun, screamed.

              "Please, oh God, please, don't kill me. I'll give you anything!"

              Roy laughed as he pulled his hand out of his jacket and revealed an envelope. He threw it to the ground, letting it land near Mark.

              "I think that all of the details of our deal are included in that envelope, Mr. Degler."

              Mark was very confused, but also very happy that Roy didn't have a gun. He reached for the envelope and opened it. There was about a dozen papers in the envelope and Mark started to scan the paper on the top, all the while trying to keep an eye on Roy.

              "Oh, by all means, I won't interrupt your reading material."

              Mark nodded and took a closer look. The top six papers consisted of a listing of arrests and parole violations for someone named Mark Hendricks from Montreal, Canada. Mark looked up at Roy.

              "I guess this would be a good time to call you Mr. Hendricks?" He asked, smiling.

              Mark had previously gone by the name Hendricks, up until about 8 years ago. Back in 1994, Mark Hendricks had been arrested numerous times for spouse abuse. Then in 1995, he had finally been arrested for the murder of his wife. He had claimed it was self defense. He had said that she had come after him with a shovel and so he had shot her, killing her. He was able to somehow escape, before the trial even started, but it went on without him. The verdict came in against him, and he was to spend the rest of his life in prison, after he was apprehended. He had taken special care, not to get into very much trouble since then, to keep a low profile. But he had been reverting back to his old self lately and had started to abuse yet another unsuspecting spouse, in Ellie. After reading through the papers in his hands, he knew he had finally been caught.

              "What do you want?"

              "Well, Mr. Hendricks, that is very simple. Everything."

              Mark shallowed uneasily, as Roy continued to stare at him.

Chapter 35: Rekindled Love

              Ethan and Ian were leading the group. They had finally reached the lodge. Jodie smiled, as she recognized the area.

              "I know where we are. There's a restaurant, right next to this lodge. And the restaurant is near the underground tunnel," Jodie said.

              "Yes, you are correct," Ethan said, smiling. "Boy, you really memorized this place, didn't you?"

              Jodie smiled, clearly happy that Ethan had noticed.

              "Restaurant?" Ellie asked.

              Jodie nodded enthusiastically. All of them were starving. Ian looked at Alan.

              "Sounds good to me," Alan said.

              "We really need to get inside and get situated. I know you're probably all very hungry, but we need to get inside. I think I have some food stashed up there."

              "Okay. The restaurant is out. Let's get in there," Ian decided.

              They continued to walk around the lodge, trying to go in the front doors. As they rounded the corner, they could see that the lodge was shaped like a horseshoe, with the "opening" of the horseshoe facing them. It was five stories high. There was a very elaborate circular driveway constructed right in front of it, along with some giant, full-size dinosaur sculptures scattered around. The seven of them walked up the driveway and finally reached the lobby entrance. Alan tried the door. It was unlocked. Ethan cleared his throat, stopping Alan.

              "If the door is unlocked, then there could be something in there. It's a possibility and I just wanted to warn you."

              "I doubt if anything can make it to this side of the island, Ethan," Ellie said.

              "Well, just in case, you can go first," Ian said to Alan.

              "Gee, thanks," Alan said, smiling.

              Alan began to go inside, with Ian right behind him.

              "Anytime," Ian said, and then he whispered so that only Alan could hear him. "If anything happens to you, I'll take care of Ellie. Don't worry."

              Alan shook his head and went all the way inside the building. The rest of them followed. As they all entered the building, they started to form two clusters of people. Ethan, Ellie and Jodie were right behind Alan, while Tim and Lex were closer to Ian. Tim and Ian were assisting Lex, since she was noticeably limping again.

              As they explored the lodge, Alan was thinking that it was just too quiet. He walked around carefully, expecting to run into something. To his delight, they didn't run into anything. He looked at Ian.

              "What time is it?"

              "Nearly midnight," he answered.

              "Time for bed," Jodie said. "I'm exhausted."

              "Yeah, me, too," Lex said. "I need to rest my leg."

              Everyone nodded in agreement. Ellie looked up one of the many staircases.

              "Ethan, which floor were you planning on?"

              "The top floor. The fifth floor."

              They began to walk up the staircase. Tim didn't think his sister would be able to walk that far up.

              "Couldn't we use an elevator?" He asked.

              "Not really. The cameras are out, but they might somehow have the elevator movement monitored. We shouldn't take a chance," Ethan said.

              "But I don't think Lex will---" 

              "It's okay. I can do it," Lex interrupted him.

              She didn't want to be a burden to the rest of the group. She knew Tim meant well, but he was making her feel silly, like a little baby.

              The seven of them made it up the stairs, and reached the fifth floor. Alan and Lex stopped to rest for a minute. The others cautiously continued on a little ways. Ellie turned around.

              "Are you going to make it?" Ellie asked Alan.

              "Oh, yeah," he said, looking at Lex. "The wounded need a rest . . . and some drugs."

              Ellie smiled, nodded, and followed Ian and the others.

              Alan was out of breath, as his shoulder was really beginning to bother him again. Lex wasn't doing much better. She noticed a water fountain nearby, so she reached into her pocket and opened the Darvocet bottle. She handed one to Alan. She took hers first, and then moved out of his way, as he took a long drink from the fountain. He thanked her and she smiled, as she leaned on him a little bit. The two of them walked down the long hallway, catching up to the others.

              There were rooms on both sides of the hallway. Ethan found the number he was looking for and opened the door. It looked like the correct room, so he went inside. Tim was right behind him. They quickly split up and searched the room. They came back to the door and motioned everyone inside. Ian and Ellie walked into the room, followed by Alan and Lex, who were caught up by now.

              There were two double beds in the main room, and then two more double beds in an attached room.

              "I guess there are already four beds. I didn't realize that. Sorry," Ethan said.

              "Everyone makes mistakes," Ian said.

              "Here's some good news, though. The water works. Everyone can take a hot shower," Ethan said.

              "Really? That is wonderful," Ellie said.

              "Yes, and I can get Alan's laceration cleaned up," Lex said.

              Alan didn't like that idea. It sounded like it might hurt. He waved her off, but it didn't work. She was able, with Ellie's help, to get him into the bathroom. Lex cleaned out the wound, but had to put the same dirty bandage on it. Alan talked them into leaving him alone, while he freshened up, using the hotel provided toothpaste and soap.

              They figured out the sleeping arrangements, and then quickly got some well-deserved rest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

              Most everyone was sound asleep on the fifth floor of the lodge. Ethan had made it possible for the bathrooms, in the rooms on both sides of them, to be used also. Everyone was able to quickly clean up and go to sleep. Ellie and Alan were sharing a bed, and had taken a lot of teasing about it from Ian.

              It was now about 1:30am and Ellie was the only one still awake. She sat up and looked at Alan. She could see him very well, even though it was dark. The moonlight was shining through the window just perfectly. He was sound asleep on his back, with his left shoulder slightly propped up with a pillow. She looked at his shoulder and the giant rip in his shirt, where Lex had cut it. There was dried blood splattered all around. Even in a sound sleep, he looked like he was in pain.

              She gently placed her hand on his chest. It was her broken hand, so she was very careful not to hurt herself. He didn't wake up, so she positioned herself where she could lay on his right shoulder. He still didn't wake up, so she tried her luck again, by wrapping her arm around him, wincing slightly, as she used her broken hand. She wanted desperately to get some sleep, but she couldn't stop thinking about him. She was torn between wanting to wake him, to talk, but she knew that she should try to go to sleep.

              She moved her arm slightly, making him gently move back and forth. He winced and woke up.

              "Sorry, if I hurt you," she whispered.

              She looked around, to make sure no one else was awake. Lex and Jodie were sharing the bed next to them. Ethan, Ian and Tim were sleeping in the main room, in the two other double beds. The girls were still sound asleep. When she looked back down, Alan was staring at her.

              "You okay?" He whispered.

              Ellie knew exactly what she wanted. She just wasn't sure how to go about it, without looking silly. She just played it by heart.

              "I need to tell you something," she whispered.

              "What is it?" He whispered.

              She acted, just as the sentence came out of his mouth. She leaned down, putting her face very close to his. She caught a glimpse of the look on his face. He looked very surprised. She smiled, closed her eyes, and leaned in even closer. She kissed him passionately. And to her sheer joy, he returned the kiss. She tightened her grip around him, as they continued to kiss, getting more and more into the moment. Alan embraced her, and then they finally came up for air. Ellie suddenly felt alive again.

              "I love you, Alan," she said, looking deep into his eyes.

              Alan responded without hesitating.

              "I love you, too," he whispered.

              There was a long pause, as Alan held onto Ellie. They never took their eyes away from one another.

              "I've never stopped loving you," Alan whispered.

              Ellie smiled. She was so happy, and relieved, to hear those words. He had said the most perfect thing to her. The one thing she longed to hear from him. She was overcome with joy. She wanted nothing more than to act upon her feelings, right now. But she knew this wasn't the time or place. She looked around the room.

              "If only we were alone," she sighed.

              Alan smiled, as he thought about what they could, most definitely, be doing right now.

              "We'll have plenty of time to be alone, when we get back to the states," he whispered.

              "Back to Montana," she whispered.

              Alan looked surprised, yet again.

              "Montana?"

              "Yeah. Me, you, Charlie, and Samantha. What do you say?"

              "I say . . . yes," he whispered. "Of course."

              Ellie smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder again.

              "Good night, Alan."

              "Good night," he whispered.

              Ellie closed her eyes, completely satisfied with her life at that very moment. She fell asleep, holding onto the man that she loved and would spend the rest of her life with.

© 2002 by Yvonne Bartha