Adventures in the Land of the Giants
Written by Inella

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"This is unbelievable!" Betty said, laughing in amazement.

They had just survived another winter on the giant planet. Imagine a season of blizzards in Colorado magnified 12 times. Now imagine spending two of these winters on a strange planet full of people 12 times your size. That will give you an idea of what these seven people have gone through. For any not familiar with the people of whom I speak, I feel I should give an explanation.

On June 12, 1983, a ship known as the Spindrift departed from an American airport; it was bound for London. However, the sub-orbital flight never reached its destination, being instead drawn into a space warp. When the ship pulled out, it landed on the planet I have spoken of. As we pick up in this story, they have been on the planet two years. Having explained all of this, I feel you are well enough acquainted with the story to understand anything that might happen.

The last of the giant snowflakes had melted, leaving the forest floor almost like a marsh. As Steve stepped out of the Spindrift, the ground gave under his feet. "Careful," he warned Betty as she followed him out of the ship.

"I can't believe we survived another one," she mused.

"It almost seems impossible, doesn't it?"

"What is impossible is cramming seven people into one small spaceship for three months."

Steve, already upset with Fitzhugh, due to the latter's constant complaining the whole winter, snapped tensely, "Fine, Fitzhugh, next winter we'll let you sleep outside, where there's plenty of room."

Using his inherent blend of selfishness, indignity, and conning, Fitzhugh replied, "I was only suggesting, Captain, that we find more suitable accommodations…for the girls' sake, of course."

"Of course. Your gallant disposition never fails to impress me," Valerie said sarcastically as she joined them outside.

Suddenly Chipper, a little dog that tends to remind one of Benji, ran past them, pursued by Barry, his teenage owner. "Chipper, come back here!" Before Barry could reach him, however, Chipper leapt into a mud puddle in pursuit of a giant ant. "Now look at you, you're all wet," Barry said, annoyed, as he pulled Chipper out of the puddle. Slipping from Barry's grasp, Chipper ran over in front of Steve and shook vigorously, spraying Steve with muddy water. "I'm sorry, Steve, I don't know what got into him."

Laughing, Steve replied, "Forget it. I have to wash the uniform anyway."

Emerging from behind the spaceship, Mark told Steve, "The winter was rougher on the ship than on us. I think it destroyed the engines."

"The cold's never bothered it before."

"It was the moisture. Those engines weren't made to sit under a pile of snow for three months."

"There's no way to fix them?"

"Not with anything I can find here."

Ever the optimist, Betty replied, "Well, at least we can still use it for shelter."

"She's right," Valerie concurred. "It's not like we lost our home. I say we should go look for some food," she concluded, tired of the MREs they had eaten for three months.

Fitzhugh, who had been sitting on the steps of the ship, was suddenly alert once more. "I agree. All problems can be solved better on a full stomach."

"OK. Mark and Valerie, you try by the bakery on the edge of town. Fitzhugh, take Barry and see what you can find outside that fast food place they just built. Betty and I will check out the snack bar in the amusement park." Walking over to the ship, he called in, "Dan, you're on the radio."

The six then headed for their respective destinations, armed with their crude, handmade instruments of survival - a hatched fashioned out of a giant matchstick and half a giant razor blade; and a grappling hook made from a giant thread tied to a giant safety pin.

# *# * # * #

"Whose idea was it anyway to put roses by a bakery?" asked Valerie as she examined her torn skirt.

"Whose idea was it to use the roses to climb up to the window?" Mark queried, smiling.

"Well, I just thought it would be easier than trying to catch the grappling hook on the window latch."

Mark picked up the rope. "Shall we try it my way now?"

Valerie nodded and watched as Mark threw the rope up. Missing the window, it caught on the stem of the rose. As he tried to pull it off, the hook got caught and pulled the rose down. Apparently, the winter had destroyed the roots. The rose fell on top of Mark.

"Mark!" Valerie tried to push the rose off of him, and as she did so, she pricked her finger on one of the thorns. She then helped Mark to his feet, asking, "Are you OK?"

"I think so. Just a little bruised."

"I think we should just go back to the ship now. There's nothing here anyway."

Mark and Valerie headed back to the ship; the others arrived at the same time, with very little improvement on Mark and Valerie's discoveries. Betty took what they had found and made a small dinner out of it.

That night, Valerie awoke with a headache. As she went to the first aid kit to find some aspirin, she fainted, waking Betty. She tried to arouse Valerie by gently shaking her. When this failed she went outside to wake Steve. "Steve, I need help," she whispered frantically.

Standing and taking a hold of her arms he said gently, "Betty, calm down. What's wrong?"

"Valerie! She fainted! I don't know what's wrong - I can't wake her!"

Steve followed her into the ship, followed by Mark, who had also awakened when Betty came out. Seeing Valerie, Mark pushed past Steve and carried her into the cabin, laying her on the bench under the view-port. Betty knelt by the bench and took Valerie's pulse. "It's so weak," she said, with a mixture of confusion and concern, "and her skin is clammy."

"Can you tell what's wrong?" asked Steve.

"No. But it's almost as if she's been poisoned."

# * # * # * #

Mark and Betty stayed by Valerie's side all night. Morning did not bring the change in her condition that they had hoped for; she hadn't been awake all night. "I'll get another cold pack," Betty said quietly, on the verge of tears.

At that moment, a group of visitors came upon the camp. "Captain Burton, it's great to see you again."

Turning towards the familiar voice, Steve saw Nicky and Joey, two of the boys the group had helped several months previously. "Hey, Nicky, it's nice to see you again. How did you find us?"

"We decided to search for you guys after we found Pete and Robbie. When we saw the ship, we came over to see if it was yours."

Having detected something in Steve's voice, Joey asked if anything was wrong.

"It's Valerie. She passed out last night and hasn't been awake since."

"Do you know what caused it?"

"No. That's what's really worrying all of us."

Thinking for a moment, Nicky asked, "Was she anywhere near the bakery yesterday?"

"As a matter of fact, I sent her and Mark there to find some food."

"Did she say anything about any roses by the building?"

"There were some roses there," Mark said as he came out of the ship. "Our grappling hook caught on one that had been killed during the winter; it pulled the rose down on top of me. Valerie pushed it off."

"Did it scratch her?"

"I don't know. Why?"

"Every year, the day it starts getting warmer, the giants who own the bakery cover the roses with some sort of bug spray," Nicky explained.

"Insecticide?"

"Yeah. That's why Dolph isn't here now. We found out too late."

"I'm sorry," Steve replied.

"Thanks."

"So this will kill her?"

"Dolph died because he tripped and a thorn went through his arm. Maybe a scratch won't be as bad."

Betty, who had heard them asking about a scratch, came back from examining Valerie's arms and hands. "She has a tiny prick mark on her finger."

"Would that be enough to put poison into her system?" Steve asked Betty.

"Well, it's like a rusty needle. It may be only the tip of the needle that goes through your skin, but if that's where the rust is…"

"…the poison's in your blood."

"Right."

"What's wrong?" asked Barry as he woke and approached the group.

"Valerie's very sick. We think she's been infected with some sort of insecticide."

"Well, then there's no need to worry," Fitzhugh said, also approaching the group. "Insecticide is harmless to people."

"Have you noticed the size of the bugs here lately?" Mark asked sharply.

"Mark, calm down. We're all worried about her."

"Well, no one's doing anything about it, are they?"

Placing her hand on Mark's shoulder, Betty said, "Mark, we're trying…"

Mark quickly pulled away from her and went back into the ship, roughly pushing past Dan.

"Well, you can't be too hard on him," Dan said as he exited the ship. "You know how he feels about her."

"I know, but that still doesn't give him the right to be so critical of us. I mean, does he think we're going to let Valerie die?"

"Of course not, Steve. But he's stressed out…just like the rest of us."

"Betty, what are you supposed to do for poison?"

After thinking for a moment, Betty responded, "The only thing you can do is flush it out of the system and hope for the best." She then re-entered the ship and got some milk. Moving over to the bench, she asked Mark, "Any change?"

Mark didn't even look up; he just shook his head.

"Well, we have to get this milk into her system somehow, to flush out the poison."

Mark nudged Valerie's arm; slowly, she opened her eyes and looked at them. "What…what happened?" she asked quietly.

"You just got a little…virus in your system," Betty explained, handing her the milk. "This should take care of it."

Valerie took the milk and sipped on it. She then handed it back to Betty and lay back down. "I'm so sleepy," she said.

"Just rest," Mark told her. "Don't rush anything."

"He's right, Val," Betty said. "The more you rest, the sooner you'll be on your…"

As Betty looked at her, she saw that Valerie was already asleep. "…feet." Smiling, Betty said to Mark, "See, I told you we were trying."

"I know. Look, Betty, I'm sorry for yelling out there…"

"Don't worry. Dan forgave you a long time ago. Let's go on out and let her get some rest."

"Go ahead. I'll just stay with her."

"OK."

The rest of the group was standing dispiritedly outside the ship; they all looked up when Betty exited the ship. "She's OK. She's just sleeping right now," she told them, allaying their fears. But the tension remained the rest of the day. Mark left the ship only once to get something to eat, but immediately re-entered the ship afterwards.

# * # * # * #

The next day, Valerie awoke as the sun streamed in the view-port. Mark was instantly by her side. "How do you feel?"

"My brain feels like it's swimming in the bayou, but other than that I feel great." Looking around, she asked, "Where is everybody?"

"Outside, eating lunch."

"Lunch?!"

Smiling, Mark explained that she had been asleep half the day. "Well, have you ever known an heiress to get up before noon?" she joked.

"We have some visitors that wanted to see you as soon as you felt up to it. When should I tell them to come in?"

"I feel fine. I could use some company right now."

"Thanks a lot," Mark said as he went outside. He was back in 5 minutes with Nicky and his brother.

"Hey, chick, what's up?"

"Nicky! When did you guys get here?" Valerie inquired excitedly.

"Yesterday morning. They told us you were sick."

"I'm doing a lot better now. Did you ever find Pete and Robbie?"

"Finally. They're back at our camp."

"I can't wait to meet them."

The boys withdrew from the room, leaving Mark and Valerie alone once more. Noticing that Mark was quieter than usual as he stared out of the view-port, Valerie asked him what was wrong.

"I just keep thinking about the last two days. When you didn't wake up - Well, I thought…"

"…that I wouldn't?"

"Right," Mark responded, moving away from the view-port. Reaching the middle of the cabin, he turned back to Valerie and said, "For the first time in my life, I felt…scared, Val. Like something was happening that Mark Wilson couldn't control. What scared me most though was that I thought I had cost myself something."

"Why?"

Sitting on the edge of the bench and taking Valerie's hand, he explained, "I thought I had waited too long. I knew that if you died, you would never know how I really felt…feel…about you."

"I think everyone knows," Valerie replied, giggling.

"No, they don't. They didn't know I was planning on asking you to marry me."

Tears formed in Valerie's eyes; she barely got out, "Oh, Mark," before she started crying. "I thought you'd never ask," she said as she hugged him.

"Is that a yes?"

Valerie could only nod, totally speechless and overcome with emotion. When she had regained her composure, she asked, "When should we tell them?"

"As soon as you're on your feet again?" he suggested.

"Perfect."

Over the next three days, Valerie slowly regained her strength. Betty noticed the remarkable improvement immediately. "It's amazing how fast you're bouncing back from that insecticide!"

"Insecticide?" inquired Valerie, confused.

Betty had forgotten that she had told Valerie it was a virus. "Well, we didn't want to alarm you before you were stronger. There was insecticide on that rose that pricked you."

"You mean, I could have died?"

Betty merely nodded. "Oh…" responded Valerie, not quite knowing what to say. "Well, I'm glad I didn't."

"Us, too."

Noticing that Betty seemed even more cheerful than usual, Valerie inquired, "What are you so happy about?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know. You just seem…I don't know…extra perky today."

"You'll find out tonight, if you're strong enough to join us for dinner."

"I think so."

"Great!"

That night, Valerie came out of the ship for the first time in nearly a week and sat down next to Mark. It was just a bit crowded with Nicky, Joey, Pete, and Robbie there (Steve had kept true to his word, having promised the boys they could stay with the Spindrift group), but no one was complaining. After they had all eaten, Mark and Valerie decided to make their announcement. "Steve," Mark started, "Val and I want to ask you to marry us."

There was a moment of silence before a round of congratulations for both of them. "Of course!" Steve replied. "I would be happy to."

"Well," Dan spoke up, moving over by Betty, "if it's all right with you, and of course Mark and Val, Betty and I would like to make it a double wedding."

"We'd be happy to share with you!" Valerie said.

Steve asked, "So, when are we going to have this wedding?"

"What about tonight?" Mark responded.

"Tonight?" the girls said in unison.

Mark turned to them. "Why not? I don't want to sound pessimistic, but anything could happen before tomorrow morning, and," he softened his voice, "I want to be married to Val if anything does."

"Well, I have no objections," remarked Betty.

Dan agreed, "Neither do I."

"I'm not about to say no to an aerospace engineer/tycoon. Count me in."

"OK, then, tonight it is," Steve replied, smiling.

Then and there, with all of their now closest friends gathered around them, Valerie and Mark & Dan and Betty pledged their eternal love to each other. They knew that no matter what happened, nothing would ever come between them, or between them and their friends. But there were more challenges to come in the months ahead.

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"I know, but it's true," came Steve's voice over the radio. He had just told Betty about a giant's abandoned house deep in the forest. The pantry had been stocked with non-perishable food items - enough to last them several months.

Still unable to believe it, Betty asked, "Are you sure it's abandoned?"

She could sense that Steve was on the verge of laughing when he replied, "Unless the cobwebs surrounding the door and two-inch thick film of dust indicate a terrible housekeeper, I'm sure. No one's walked through this place in years."

"I'll tell the others," Betty replied with excitement. "Spindrift out." She practically ran out of the cockpit and down the steps outside. Nicky and Barry were playing cards, Joey was playing fetch with Chipper, and Valerie was writing in the diary she had been keeping since the crash. Everyone started when Betty elatedly squeaked out, "Guess what everyone! Steve and Mark found a real house for us to live in!"

Thinking she was joking, Valerie asked with a friendly taunting, "How did they get the birds to leave their nest?"

Still smiling, and somewhat out of breath, Betty told them, "This isn't a joke, guys! They found a giant's old abandoned cabin way back in the woods, where nobody would ever think of looking! He said there was even food in the pantry."

"What if it's a trap?" Barry asked.

"Steve would know that," responded Betty, "he always does. Besides, he said that there was a film of dust and no footprints. Cobwebs around the door, too. No one has been in or out in ages."

All of them merely stood silently for a few seconds before embracing each other in ecstasy. They would finally be able to sleep without worrying about giants stumbling on their camp.

"When do we move in?" Valerie inquired.

"As soon as we get everything together. Mark will be coming back to help with some of the stuff." Suddenly remembering the outpost and food search parties, Betty said, "Oh, I have to call Dan and Fitz at the outpost, then I'll get in touch with Pete and Robbie." She quickly turned and bounded back into the ship in her ever-present cheerful manner.

All of the luggage was waiting on the ground when Mark showed up to help transport everything to the cabin. Valerie went up to Mark and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him. "That's for finding us a real home!" she exclaimed playfully.

Returning the embrace, Mark said, "Actually, Steve was the one who found the deserted mouse hole in the wall. There seems to be enough insulation to keep the elements out."

This was a welcome revelation - they were now well into summer, six months having passed since Nicky and his friends joined them, and the weather was warming rapidly. The air conditioning had been the latest thing to go out on the ship, so it had was almost unbearable on some days.

Mark and the boys took most of the luggage themselves, leaving the girls with only their overnight cases. As Valerie bent to pick hers up, she suddenly felt faint. Noticing her bracing herself against the ship, Mark went over and put his arm around her. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, just kind of dizzy," she reassured him with a smile. "I guess the insecticide hasn't worn off yet."

"Well, I'll still feel better when you can get some real rest at the cabin."

"Really, I'm fine."

Betty, constantly concerned about the health of the entire group, began to say something, but one glance from Valerie warned against it. Val had no intention of worrying Mark with the revelation that she hadn't eaten breakfast that morning. Betty knew Valerie must have a good reason for keeping it quiet, and she didn't want to hurt her friend. She would wait until a later time.

They all followed Mark's lead to the cabin. He stopped twice because the same dizziness repeatedly seized Valerie. Betty resolved then that she would tell him about that morning as soon as she could talk to him away from the group.

Finally, they were standing outside the log cabin, much like a giant replica of one you might see in a quaint mountain community. Betty giggled and held her arm out in front of Valerie. Knowing exactly what Betty was thinking, since Val was thinking the exact same thing, she pinched Betty's arm. Betty winced, satisfied that she wasn't dreaming.

After they had all crawled in under the door, Mark told Barry and the girls, "Go into the pantry - there's a mouse hole inside, in the back wall." He then motioned to Nicky and Joey to help him with a large towel. "If we roll this up, we can put it up against the door to keep the air out," he explained. The three of them completed this task while Barry took the luggage and the girls to the mouse-hole, where Pete and Robbie had arrived and been waiting for them.

Peering in, they were surprised to see several different tunnels branching off from the main hole. But as Steve led them inside, they were even more astounded by the setup in the main hole.

In the very center was a crudely assembled dining room set - a large table and eight chairs. "It seems," said Steve, "that we weren't the first ones to discover this cabin."

"Obviously," responded Betty, still shocked.

"Of course, three of us will have to sit on the floor," Valerie added, laughing.

Smiling, Steve responded, "Look over here." He crossed to the opposite wall and pulled back a curtain. Behind it was a bench carved into the wood.

"This is almost creepy," said Valerie, shivering. Feeling dizzy once more, she asked Steve, "Mr. Manager, I would like to be escorted to my suite in this fine establishment."

He led her to one of the many openings and into a room with a large bed, slightly better in construction than the dining room set.

As Mark entered the mouse-hole, Betty took him aside. "I have to tell you something," she said worriedly. "It's about Valerie."

Without hesitation, Mark answered, "She skipped breakfast again, didn't she?"

"Right."

Mark sighed in annoyance. This was the third time this week. "Where is she?"

"Laying down, in there," Betty said, her point indicating the door from which Steve had emerged a few moments prior.

Mark entered and sat on the bed next to Val. "Today, too?" was his simple question.

"I just wasn't hungry," she mumbled into the pillow. "I'll be OK," she continued, turning to face him. "When I was back home, there were whole weeks when I wouldn't eat breakfast."

Taking her hand, Mark responded, "I just worry about you. I have since…since the moment the ship crashed."

"If I promise to eat breakfast tomorrow, will you stop worrying?"

"Let's put it this way - it would make me feel better."

"Me too," Valerie said as she rubbed her stomach.

He leaned over and kissed Valerie on the forehead before getting up and exiting the room. Betty entered a few seconds later; Valerie propped herself up against the wooden headboard as Betty sat down on the only other surface in the room - the floor. "So, what's really wrong?" Betty asked, concerned.

Valerie seemed almost scared when she gave her response. Staring at the sheets, she said, "Betty, I think…I think I'm pregnant."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Betty just sat on the floor, not knowing what to say. She would have immediately gushed her congratulations, but something in Valerie's tone told her that Val didn't share her enthusiasm. She was sure of it when Valerie began crying; Betty went over and sat down on the bed beside her. Thinking Valerie was worried about the pregnancy itself, Betty reassured her, "You have ten other people to take care of you and the baby."

"It's not that," Valerie softly responded.

"Then what…"

Looking at Betty, Valerie explained, "I never thought it would happen this fast. I mean, I never wanted to put the group in danger…"

"You haven't - we have this perfect home to live in now, and even if we were still at the ship, there wouldn't be that much danger to us. Besides, Steve's a big boy," Betty continued, giggling. "He knew what might happen once he performed that ceremony. He would have refused to marry you and Mark if this would have put us in danger."

This did little to reassure Valerie. "I guess you're right," she said grimly. "But I don't know if Mark thought of that."

Betty suddenly understood the source of Valerie's worries. "I'm sure he did, Val. There's no reason for you to worry."

"He just doesn't exactly strike me as the type of man who will jump for joy when he finds out about a baby."

"I think you underestimate him. I thought he was an arrogant jerk every time I read a newspaper article about him. I dreaded being on the same flight," Betty laughed, recalling the day he showed up at the airport. Coming back to the present, she added, "but you've both changed a lot in the past two-and-a-half years."

"I still don't want to rock the boat. We've been so happy the past six months…"

"And that won't change. I just know it. I know he won't throw you out the window."

This totally non-sensical statement made Valerie laugh and pulled her out of her depression. She hugged Betty, thankful to have such a caring friend. "Now," said Betty, wiping Val's eyes with a flowered handkerchief that Betty always had with her, "why don't we go eat some dinner?"

Valerie nodded and followed Betty out to the dining room. Dan and Fitzhugh showed up shortly after Betty had finished cooking up some pasta, part of what had been found in the pantry. She repeatedly had to shoo Fitzhugh out of the kitchen - but she wasn't angry with him. She knew they all felt anxious to eat real food after living for so long on roots.

After a very satisfying dinner, they all turned in for the night, looking forward to a worry-free night of sleep, something that had vanished with the crash. One person, however, was just as restless as she had been at the ship. Valerie lay awake all night, still wondering just how Mark would react to the news.

Breakfast the next morning was leftover pasta, but no one seemed to mind. As I explained before, after two years of roots, they could probably have eaten pasta for weeks on end without a complaint. Betty cleared the table and put the dishes in the little basin that had been cut into the wall, filling it with water that they got from the stream a few feet from the cabin.

While Steve took Fitzhugh and Dan and went back to the ship for the radio equipment, Valerie helped Betty with the dishes.

Barry and Joey popped their heads into the kitchen, saying, "We're going to go check this place out."

"Don't get lost," Betty jokingly warned. "Seriously, though, don't go near the windows - just in case…"

"We won't," Barry reassured her. With that, he and Joey started on their expedition of discovery, Chipper at their heels. They were soon joined by Nick, who took it as his responsibility to look after his younger brother.

It had been his responsibility since Joey was six. Nick was nine at the time, when their father walked out on them and their mother. He couldn't have been happier when the man left - their father was usually gone, and when he was home, he was always stone drunk. But Joey, being only six, was still troubled by the departure, so Nick stepped in as his new father. Since then, Joey had never let Nick out of his sight, and vice versa.

After the dishes were done, Valerie left the kitchen to search for Mark. She knew she couldn't keep it from him long, and the sooner she told him, the sooner she would have it off of her mind. He was in their room, poring over the Spindrift's tech manual, trying to find some type of material he could use to repair the engines, at least enough to get them home. "I was just wondering," she said quietly, walking over to him, "did you ever think of what would happen after we got married?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the book.

Trying to find the perfect way to word the explanation, she continued, "Oh, I don't know. Just…anything."

Still flipping pages, he responded, "If you mean, did I think about the fact that one of us could be killed any day, it did cross my mind."

Val walked over to Mark, pulling the book from his hands and forcing him to look at her. She then said, "I mean, did you think about the possibility that I would have a baby?"

"Of course I did," he replied. Then, taking the book from her hands and tossing it on the bed, he went on, "I always knew there was that possibility. But I'd rather see it happen back home, where you can be around a doctor."

Bracing herself for the worst, Valerie uttered one short sentence: "It didn't wait."

Mark visibly stiffened. While it wasn't the angry reaction Valerie was expecting, it scared her. "Well," he said, "at least you're not alone. Between the ten of us, we ought to be able to take care of you." While he forced a small smile, his tone was strained. Not so much with anger, but with what seemed to be…fear. Almost pain, Valerie thought.

Somewhat shakily, Mark said, "Um…I think I'll go help Steve with…with the radio equipment."

As he turned to go, Valerie stood there, not knowing what to think. Their strong, independent engineer had almost seemed on the verge of crying, and it had been her news that caused it. She broke down in tears; pounding her fist on the nightstand by the bed, she cursed the situation. Why did it have to happen now? Everything was ruined - above all, her perfect life with Mark Wilson, something she'd planned for years, since she'd read that first article on him.

Betty came out of the kitchen in time to see Mark slide under the pantry door and out into the cabin. Hearing Valerie crying, she hurried into the room and put her arm around Val, trying to comfort her but resisting the urge to ask what had happened.

Valerie cried for twenty minutes, after which she gave the entire explanation to Betty. She wouldn't normally have blabbed private conversations, but she trusted Betty and needed her inherent ability to judge people's emotions. "I don't know what's wrong," she said.

"I know he has a good reason for reacting that way," Betty told her. "Just try to talk to him tonight. He'll tell you."

"I hope you're right."

They went out to the table to play cards. Pete and Robbie joined in the game, being practically abandoned by the adventurers. Soon, Steve, Dan, and Fitz returned with the radio components. "Where's our engineer?" Steve asked. "We need him to put this thing back together."

Valerie said, "He probably just got lost examining the ship."

With a confused laugh, Steve responded, "How could he examine the ship from here?"

"Wasn't he with you?"

Gesturing towards Dan and Fitzhugh, Steve replied, "I just took these two."

"He told me he was going to go help you with the equipment," Valerie said, growing alarmed.

"He never met us anywhere," Dan replied.

"Did he take a radio?" Steve asked.

"No, I don't think so."

Steve immediately set up two search parties. "Dan, Fitz, the three of us will head west. Betty, you and the boys head east."

"Please, Steve, let me come," Valerie requested.

"Someone has to stay here."

"I'll stay," Betty volunteered.

"OK. Pete and Robbie, you're with Dan. Val can come with Fitzhugh and me."

The two groups then headed out to find Mark. They hadn't gone far when Valerie noticed him leaning on a tree root by the stream. Steve started towards him, but Valerie grabbed his sleeve. "Let me talk to him."

Steve handed her his radio, and she walked over to Mark. Fitz began to follow but was yanked back by Steve, who walked further in the opposite direction.

"Why didn't you go to the ship?"

"I needed to be alone for a while. To think."

"You don't want the baby, do you?"

Taking Valerie's hand, Mark said gently, "Is that what I made you think? No, it's not that, believe me. Under any other circumstances, I would probably be thrilled."

"Then what is it?"

He sat down on a rock, Valerie beside him, and began to explain.

"When I was about sixteen, my mother was pregnant. It started getting really difficult for her, but there were my younger sisters to take care of. Both of them needed things that were very hard for us to afford. So, to take care of them, Mom put off going to the doctor. I told her she needed to, but she wouldn't put herself before the girls. Two months later, she had a miscarriage that nearly killed her. A miscarriage that the doctor in the ER said could have been prevented."

Finishing his explanation, he told Valerie, "I promised myself then that I would never have to sacrifice my wife's health because we 'didn't have the money'. But now, all the money I have is absolutely useless. It can't provide the care you need, and I don't want to lose you…"

He couldn't go on. Valerie gently put her arms around him, extremely touched by the tragic story. She held him tighter as sobs of fear and frustration overtook him. "It's OK," she whispered reassuringly, "Everything will be all right. No matter what happens, we have each other. That's what counts." As he slowly regained his composure, she said, "Besides, we have nine of the greatest friends in the world. I wouldn't want to be stranded with anyone else."

They both laughed and began heading back for the cabin. Steve caught Valerie's eye; she returned a look letting him know that everything was all right.

That night, a loud rumbling, almost like not-so-distant thunder, awakened them all. Without warning, their new home began to shake violently. They covered their heads as they were pelted with everything from books to luggage. When it had subsided, they all met in the dining room, where Mark had re-assembled the radio. Amazingly, it hadn't been touched. After finding the frequency they always used to monitor giant radio broadcasts, they learned that the city had just experienced a 'minor quake'.

"Now I know what a 3.6 feels like to a mouse," Barry said sleepily. Looking around, he asked, "Has anyone seen Chipper?"

Everyone began looking and calling. Following a quiet whimper, Valerie bent down to see Chipper huddling under their bed, quivering. "Oh, you poor baby, come to Auntie Val."

Chipper stiffly shuffled over to let Valerie pick him up. She then took him out to Barry, who began to stroke him in an attempt to comfort not only Chipper but also himself.

Having continued to monitor all radio broadcasts to get as much information as possible, Mark informed them, "It seems that what we just went through was just a preview. They're expecting a stronger one later tonight."

In his typical, paranoid manner, Fitzhugh said, "We'll never survive! This place is a death trap!"

"We're not going to die," Steve retorted angrily. Turning to Mark, he asked, "Where would be the best place for us to be?"

"Right where we are, actually. Our things might get thrown around a little, but the confined space gives a density that allows the surrounding walls to remain standing."

"Kind of like standing in a doorway," Betty said.

"Exactly."

"Anyone for some hot cocoa?" Valerie asked as she moved towards the kitchen.

"I think we could all use some," replied Betty, joining Valerie in the kitchen.

Before they had the chance to turn on the stove to heat the water, the ground began to shake more violently than before. Betty and Valerie dove under the counter, the boys went under the table, and Steve, Dan, Fitz, and Mark braced themselves in the 'doorways'. The shaking continued for nearly five minutes; suddenly they all heard a loud, horrifying crash outside the pantry. When the shaking finally stopped, Steve and Mark went to see what had caused the noise. A beam from the roof had collapsed, closing off the doorway. Fortunately, just as Mark had predicted, their home had held up perfectly, though the rest of the cabin had been totally destroyed.

"Well," Steve said soberly, "at least we can still eat."

Returning to the dining room, he sat down at the table. "Add one more hot chocolate to the order."

With a little salute, Betty smiled and said, "Coming right up, Captain."