"Is the doctor supposed to treat this man in the middle of your damn lobby?!"

Derek struggled not to grin at the spectacle his younger colleague presented. Alex stood before a young male hotel employee behind the Reservations Desk, her hands on her hips, her face and body still splattered with mud, one sock bloodied by the cuts on her leg, and the flower still behind her left ear. Her hair was matted and wild, and he had no idea how she still managed to look so lovely.

He was getting quite a few looks himself, since her halter top was once more cradling his injured arm. Alex had insisted that he put it back on after he failed to hide some of the grimaces and grunts as they continued down the mountain. However, that naturally left her without a top to wear, only her lilac bra. It was in that sparse attire, along with mud-covered shorts and a bleeding leg, that Alex was now attempting to get them a room at the Te Tiare Beach Resort, one of the most elegant hotels on Huahine.

It had taken quite a bit of luck for them to reach this stunning resort. When they had spotted the road, their spirits had lifted. They had risen even further when they looked down and saw a young woman pedaling by on a bicycle as if there were nothing else in the world to concern her. Alex had turned and beamed at him. "See, we were going the right way. Everything will be fine." He hadn't been sure if she had been saying that for his benefit or hers.

"Madam, I'm very sorry, but we have no available rooms," the reservations clerk's voice broke into his thoughts. "We are booked a year in advance. We would, however, be happy to bring him into the Manager's Office."

"Where is the manager?" Alex demanded. "I want to talk to him."

"Certainly, madam," the man said before he dialed a number on the phone, then spoke softly into it.

The dark woman turned to him and he raised his eyebrow, as if asking how long it would be. She gave him a frown and shrugged. Derek offered her a smile of encouragement. Not that she needed it. The manager was in for an earful, he was certain. This was not the same Alex who had hiked up the mountain with him, and the manager was about to meet the new Alex.

Derek noticed her square her shoulders as an older man approached her, a brass-plated "manager" badge on his jacket.

"Good afternoon, ma'am. My name is Thomas Leonard and I'm the manager of the hotel. May I help you?" he smiled courteously at her, but she only pursed her lips.

As he watched Alex, Derek knew that they had been fortunate to get here so quickly once they had reached the main road. When they had originally spotted the Jeep Explorer driving toward them, they believed at first that Nick might have somehow located them. The driver, though, was a young man from the hotel, returning with an older couple whom he had taken on a guided tour of the island. They were a bit startled to see this ragged, bleeding man and woman hobbling down the road, but they quickly picked them up and drove them to the hotel.

"What happened to you?" the elderly woman had asked as she watched the driver help settle Derek into the back seat with an anxious Alex beside him.

"Got lost on the trail," his young colleague had casually replied with a wave of her hand.

He almost laughed at the memory. At least it was one that he could call to mind with some clarity of thought. There were others that were just... He took a deep breath and sighed. What disturbed him at present was the quick vision he had experienced when Jeroen had been strangling him. What was it that the other man had said? That Derek would stay put the next time he killed him? Had the young man believed he had succeeded this time, when he had only succumbed to the vision? And the young consulate worker had believed that he had killed him once before. He vaguely recalled that Jeroen had shot him in the arm, and Alex falling into some sort of pit, but what...

The precept closed his eyes against his growing headache, trying to tune out the noises around him. The vision he had... He had been choking on dirt... buried...

"Derek? Derek, we've got a room," Alex said gently as she knelt before him, placing her hands on his knees.

"How did you manage that?" He briefly smiled at her, not wanting to worry her further.

"I told him to call Jean-Pierre Martan at the Bora Bora Pearl Beach Resort if he didn't think we were good for it." She shrugged and grinned. "Actually, a woman called and cancelled her reservation. Her wedding's off, so there's no honeymoon," she said as she helped him stand. "The doctor's on the way and so aren't the police."

The manager approached them. "If you will please follow me?" He gazed at the both of them. "May I offer assistance to either of you?"

Alex shook her head at him, then looked at Derek as their arms went around the waist of the other. "No, we're fine." Mr. Leonard simply nodded and led them outside. Ten minutes later they arrived at a bungalow overlooking a lovely, colorful garden.

"This is one of our most secluded rooms," the manager said as he opened the door. "I think you'll find it quite restful." He walked toward the rear. "The sitting area is has a comfortable sofa and two chairs on the other side of the table. Over by the window is a small work desk, and the bathroom is located back here..."

Yawning, Alex deposited both of them on the large bed and flopped back against the coverlet. "Oh, isn't the softness and clean smell wonderful?" she said as she felt the silky, smooth fabric.

Derek chuckled faintly. "It's almost like being in that cave." Alex joined him in laughter as he also lay back on the bed.

"Dr. Guilder should be here shortly," Mr. Leonard said as he returned to them. "If you should require anything else..."

Derek sat up and smiled. "Thank you. We'll call if we do."

The manager closed the door behind him as Alex yawned again. "I don't know what I want to do first - eat, sleep or take a shower." She bent down and took off her sneakers.

He yawned in response to hers, then followed suit by kicking off his sneakers. "You'd better pick one and do it fast. We need to talk to the police, and call Nick and Rachel." He pushed himself off the bed. "I'm picking food."

"If I had the energy, I think I'd take a shower right now," Alex said wistfully. "If the room looks this beautiful, the shower must be gorgeous." He took a glance around the room, with its muted shades of orange and red. The curtains with their tropical design swayed on the gentle breeze. Several vases of island flowers adorned a table by the bed and the coffee table by the seating area. "Damn..."

"What's the matter?" He stumbled over to a platter of fruit on a table near the entrance.

"Oh, I forgot to tell them about their Jeep."

He returned to the bed with the fruit, then resumed his position next to her as he ate a mango slice. "The one we rented?" he said as he popped one into her mouth.

"Mmm," she said as she grinned at him. "And we'll have to get new clothes as well." She sat up and looked down at him. "You owe me a new top, you know."

His left hand gently touched her face where Jeroen had slapped her. "Oh, I have a feeling I owe you a lot more than that." She beamed as she lowered her face to his. Her hair caressed his face, and his body responded to her closeness.

A knock on the door made her stop with her mouth inches from his. A long moment passed. "I guess I should get that." Her breath on his face teased him as she briefly lowered her head to his chest. "Remember where we were," she said as she winked at him. She sighed as she strolled to the door, then turned back as she reached it. "I wouldn't want to forget."

"Don't you worry," he said as his eyes roamed over her. "I think I can remember." She tried to stifle a giggle as she opened the door.

"Good afternoon, miss," a tall man with white hair and wire-framed glasses said to her. "I'm Dr. Michael Guilder. The hotel manager said that you needed medical assistance, that someone had been shot."

"Yes, please come in," Alex said, waving him in with her hand. "Derek is worse than I am, so if you could please check on him." She indicated the man on the bed, and the doctor walked over to him.

"Doctor Guilder," Derek rose in greeting. "I'm Derek Rayne and this is Alex Moreau."

"Oh, no, sit down," the doctor told him as Derek grimaced. The other man tried to hide the grin that came to his face. "That's a rather interesting sling you're wearing."

"My beautiful and very clever colleague," Derek acknowledged as he smiled at her, "came up with the idea. There was rather a... shortage of supplies on the mountain."

"Well, first I'll need you to get cleaned up..." He turned to the door when another knock occurred.

"That's probably the police," Alex said as she went to get it. She greeted a man in his 40s and black hair, who introduced himself as Inspector Williamson. "You reported a shooting?"

"Yes, Derek was shot," Alex said as she pointed to the precept. "By a young man we know from the Dutch consulate, Jeroen van Dissen. We found him looting an overgrown marae that we stumbled upon when we were hiking."

"I'm going to need a description of him," the inspector said as he pulled out a notepad. "And what caliber was the weapon?" he asked Dr. Guilder.

"It looks like a small one," the doctor said as he pressed his fingers in various spots as he worked his way down Derek's arm. "Probably a .22."

Alex nodded. "It was. I'm quite sure it was a .22. He was shot because he was trying to protect me."

"He was lucky. It looks like a clean one, through and through." Dr. Guilder raised his glasses on his nose as he turned to the others. "How it missed his humerus bone..."

Alex turned toward the door when a knock announced another visitor. "Good morning, ma'am. Sorry to interrupt." A young hotel employee smiled as she invited him in, and he bent to pick up several items. "My name's Isiah. Dr. Guilder asked me to bring these in." He carried the materials over to the older man. "Doctor, here is your bag and some extra bandages. Can I get you anything else?" He turned and made a slight bow to Alex. "May I get you and the gentleman anything?"

"Actually..." Alex thought for a moment. "If you could get us some clothes. We just have what we're wearing." She grabbed a sheet of paper from the desk and quickly wrote on it. "Here are our sizes. I hope you won't have any trouble. We're just looking for something clean and comfortable."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it."

"Would you wait, please?" the doctor addressed the young man as he turned to the door. "I think I'll need you, Isiah. I need to get this man into a shower, and I'm afraid that he'll faint on me."

"I don't think..." Derek stood and closed his eyes as he swayed for a short time before he felt the doctor's grip on his left arm. "I'm sorry, but I wouldn't be able to hold you up if you should fall any further." Dr. Guilder looked at him from underneath the rim of his glasses. "I'd be afraid that, should you become further injured, it would mean a trip to the hospital."

Derek checked the smile that threatened to grow on his face. The elderly doctor certainly knew how to coax a patient to do what he needed. The Dutchman merely said in a quiet voice, "If you insist, doctor."

As they headed toward the bathroom, Derek heard the police inspector tell Alex, "Now, Miss Moreau, why don't you tell me everything that happened�" The precept wished that he could remain and hear the entire story of what had transpired to them on the mountain, but he was due for further indignities and medical treatment. With the assistance of the other two men, he left the room.

Almost an hour later, a cleaned and bandaged Derek Rayne walked back into the main room under his own steam and wearing a white terry-cloth robe. "I'm returning him to your capable hands," Dr. Guilder winked at Alex. "You watch out for this man of yours, but if he should have any further problems, you give me a call."

Derek coughed to hide the grin at the blush that crept to her cheeks. "Thank you, but I don't think I'll need to, doctor," she said before her brown eyes captured his hazel ones.

"Now, Michael, you behave yourself," Insp. Williamson said to the older man. "Miss, I'd like you to come in the chopper with me, to see if we can find the young man who shot your friend or locate this marae," he said, his eyes shifting to Alex. "I think you'd be the best choice," he nodded to her. "It would give us a starting point to conduct our search."

"I would like to come along as well," Derek told them firmly.

"Derek, are you sure?" He saw the worry in her eyes. "You should be getting some rest..."

"Alex, I'll be fine," he assured her gently. "I think it would be better, perhaps quicker, if we both went. Another pair of eyes."

"I suppose you have a point," the policeman conceded. "All right then, if you're dressed and still standing in about an hour when I return, I'll take you both."

"And that means you'll need some new clothes," Isiah said. "I'd better get going as well." With that, the two men left.

"Now, young lady," the doctor told Alex, "it's your turn for the shower. I want to take a look at that leg to make sure it's not as bad as I think it may be." The young woman grinned as she limped toward the lavatory. "And I want to take a look at that ankle as well," he called out after her.

A knock on the door a short time later brought the return of Isiah, who was carrying a bundle of clothes. "I hope these are suitable," the young man said, placing what he had brought on the coffee table. "I tried to give you a small assortment so you'd have some choice."

Derek looked through the items and picked out a shirt and slacks for himself. He was somewhat surprised to see underwear and sandals that would fit him. "Thank you for doing this."

"No problem, sir," the man replied. "The hotel would like to improve your impression of our island." Assuring him that it was not necessary, Derek tried to slip on the shirt. He had some difficulty and the young man assisted him. Dr. Guilder came over and tried to convince the precept that it might not be a good idea to go with the young lady, but Derek would hear none of it. Sighing, the doctor pulled an arm sling out of his bag and fastened it around Derek's neck.

"Now don't forget to take two of these every six hours, or you won't be enjoying your time on our island," the doctor teased him as he handed him a bottle of pills. "You should be exploring this facility and all it offers, not flying in choppers after you've been shot."

"What else do you have in that black bag of yours?" Derek grinned as he looked inside.

"Never you mind." Dr. Guilder laughed. "The hotel always tries to let me know somewhat what to expect when I come to see someone. If you were any worse, I'd have the manager call an ambulance whether you liked it or not."

"That's telling him, doctor." Alex laughed as well as she entered the room with her hair wrapped in a towel and wearing a white robe. The three men rose from their chairs, and the doctor strode over to her.

"You, young lady, I want over there, sitting on that bed while I look at that scratched leg of yours," the elderly man ordered her. She did so, and Derek was glad to see that her lower leg wasn't as bad as he had first thought.

Her ankle, fortunately, was only sprained, and Dr. Guilder soon had it wrapped in an Ace bandage. He used an antibiotic cream for her lower leg and knee, and then he partially wrapped those. As he was leaving, Insp. Williamson returned. "Are we ready to go?"

"Oh my God, you've returned!" Alex hurried to the bathroom. "I'll only be a minute, I promise," she called out behind her.

Derek smiled as he picked up the remaining clothes on the table. "Pardon me, gentlemen. My friend can be a fast dresser, but she is going to need something to change into."

He turned and approached the lavatory. Just then, Alex rushed out and stopped short, almost crashing into him. "I think you forgot these." Derek grinned at her as he held up the selection of garments as the one she wore slipped from her shoulder.

Coloring under his steady gaze, Alex gave him a hushed, "Thank you, Derek," before taking the garments from his hands. She turned and limped back into the other room to change, then winked at him before slowly closing the door.

End part 33