| Chapter 49 Nick kept his eyes closed the entire helicopter ride to the site. It was one thing to be in a plane, but a helicopter was a whole different story. He listened to everyone talking over the headset. He could tell they were nervous too. The topic of conversation kept changing and he could hear it in their voices. He felt Diane squeeze his hand, "Baby, look." He opened his eyes and looked in the direction she was pointing. Through the new budding leaves he could see parts of the plane. The early morning sun was glistening off the metal, making them glow. He was completely shocked. He'd only seen pictures on TV of what it looked like from the air, but now, seeing it in person, was almost overwhelming. Diane gave him a reassuring smile as the helicopter started to descend into the clearing. Everyone jumped out and was met by the camera crew that was already there filming them come in. The helicopter took off again, leaving them there. "Well, what should we do first?" Howie asked. "Lets get the tents up and make camp. Then we can go look around," Kevin said. Nick let Misha off her leash, knowing she wouldn't wonder to far, and went to help the guys. Apparently the camera crew brought in a couple of tents and camping supplies for them. Kevin looked over everything, seeing it was the same as when they were here before. "Wow, aren't they thorough," he commented. "Yeah, this is all the same stuff isn't it?" A.J. asked. "Sure is," Howie said. Nick and Brian just looked at each other. Neither one of them actually saw the outside of the tent, so they had no idea. While the guys went about putting the tents up, Diane grabbed the cooking pot and went down to the river. She looked around as she filled the pot with water. Things hadn't changed at all. Everything looked the same as before. She laughed, And life goes on, she thought, picking up the pot and heading back to camp. She got a fire going and began boiling the water. The guys finished putting up the tents, and carrying the sleeping bags inside the one, while placing their supplies and backpacks they brought in the other. For the most part they ignored the camera crew. Nick kept thinking if this was what the people on that show Survivor felt like. Always being watched, but not able to talk to the person doing it. After Diane got the water boiled and sat it over to cool, they all decided to go look around. They stayed together as they walked toward the broken plane. The vegetation had grown up a little bit, but other than that, it was all there. They decided to look at the back of the plane first, and headed in that direction. Nick and Brian were both in awe of the wreckage. Neither said a word, but followed along, looking at everything. When they reached the back of the plane, they all just stood there, peering in. It was like they were afraid to go in, that maybe they would disturb something if they did. Finally Kevin took a step forward into the body of the plane. Once he was in, the rest followed. Slowly they looked around, walking all the way back past the galley. "How did you guys find each other in here?" Brian asked. "Um well, let's see," Diane said, "I was here I think, in the floor." "I was still in my seat," Howie said, "Here," he pointed. "I was over here somewhere," A.J. said, looking around. "And I was pinned to the wall right over here," Kevin pointed. "So much for seat belts huh?" Nick said. Howie laughed, "I dunno, they worked for me." "You my friend are the only one," Diane said, walking past them and out of the plane. The rest followed and headed toward the part that Nick and Brian had been in. As they walked Nick looked around, "Where was I?" Everyone stopped walking and looked at him. Diane took his hand, "Over here," she said, leading him off to the side. "We found you laying here," she said, showing him the part of the plane that still lay there. Nick looked at it for a moment, then back to the other parts of the plane. "How'd I get here?" he asked. "We don't know," Kevin said. "All I know is that when the plane broke apart, you got sucked out," Brian said, "I couldn't hang on to you." Nick walked over to his friend and put his arm around him, "You did your best. I don't .... blame you." Brian smiled up at him, as they turned to go inspect the rest of the plane. They reached the front of the plane and looked in. "Let's stay out here, last time we were in there is was pretty unstable," Kevin said. "Yeah, it was," A.J. agreed. "Lets see, where was I?" Brian asked, looking into the plane. "I think it was over there," Howie said, pointing. "Yeah, cause you were holding that bar off your throat," Diane said. "How'd you do that?" Nick asked, "That thing looks heavy." "It was," Brian laughed, "I really don't know. I remember watching the sun rise through the window and then it seemed like hours before anyone came looking for me. I know that I switched hands for a while, holding it with one and resting the other." They all looked at each other, feeling the same thing. They were lucky to have lived through this. Misha started barking and took off chasing something. The group watched as a rabbit ran by them, Misha on it's heels. Nick reached down and scooped the dog up as it attempted to run by, "Oh no you don't. Leave the furry woodland creatures alone." "Come on, lets go back and fix some lunch," Howie said, "I'm hungry." "I'll second that," A.J. said, heading off in the direction of the camp. Nick carried Misha in one arm and held Diane's hand with the other. "Thank you," he said. She looked up at him, "For what?" "For everything," he answered, smiling down at her. Diane blushed as she smiled back at him. They had lunch and then took the dishes down to the river to clean them. Brian and Nick gawked at the waterfall. "This is awesome!" Nick said. "Yeah, I could hear it from the tent, but this is just, beautiful," Brian agreed. "Let's go swimming," Nick said. "Nick, the water is cold," Kevin noted. "Aw come on you wuss," Nick teased, kicking off his shoes and pulling his shirt up over his head. Everyone watched as he waded in a ways then dove under. He resurfaced further out, "Come on it's great!" Diane watched as the rest of the guys stripped down to their shorts and went in. She laughed and looked over at one of the cameras, "If your friend jumped off a bridge would you follow them?" then she pointed to the guys splashing around, "They would." The camera man laughed, as she gathered the dishes and took them back to camp. She changed into the swim suit she'd brought with her and went back. A.J. whistled at her, "Whoa baby! Lookin good girl!" Diane stuck her tongue out at him, and laughed as she swam past him and up to Nick. He smiled at her, and wrapped his arms around her waist under the water, "You look ..... pretty." She grinned at him, leaning down and whispering in his ear, "To bad the other guys are here. We coulda fulfilled one of those fantasies of yours." Nick's eyes went wide and he blushed profusely. Brian swam by, "What's up with you?" he asked, noticing the look on Nick's face. "Um ... nothing," Nick said, in a shaky voice. Diane laughed, grinning at him. Brian stared at the two for a moment then a smile crept across his face, "Oh you told her about the water fantasy huh?" "Brian! God shut up!" Nick said, splashing him with water. Brian laughed and swam away, "I'll leave you two alone then," he called over his shoulder. Diane raised her eyebrow at Nick, "He knows about that?" He nodded, "Yeah, we were bored one night... and so we decided to tell each other what our ... fantasy places would be." "So what's his?" she asked. Nick grinned leaning close and whispering in her ear. Diane burst out laughing, "Oh God that's to good. Has he done it?" Nick smiled at her. "Oh my God, I am calling Leighanne when I get back. I've gotta hear about this," she said. Nick laughed, "I hear that's how Baylee got here." "Oh Lord," Diane said, glancing over at Brian then back again. "He just doesn't strike me as a public place kind of person," she said. "That's what makes it a fantasy," Nick said. "I guess," she said, "I've gotta get out, I'm freezing." "So am I. I just wanted to see if they'd follow me in," Nick admitted, swimming with her to the shore and walking up the rocks. The rest of the guys followed suit. All were shivering when they got back to camp, so they built the fire up and changed into some dry clothes. Howie made some coffee and they sat around the fire drinking it and talking about the past year. It was late afternoon before any of them got up again. Howie was looking through the food they had, planning supper. Diane was helping him, when Nick came up to her. "Will you walk with me?" he asked. "Sure," she said, leaving Howie and taking Nick's hand as they walked toward the river. All the guys watched them go, smiling at each other. They walked to the river in silence. Diane could tell that Nick was nervous about something. He kept taking deep breaths and glancing at her. He had his hand in his jacket pocket, and she could tell he was fumbling with something in there. They reached the river and Nick looked upstream a bit. There was a large bolder next to the water. He lead her over and climbed up, offering her his hand. When they were both settled, sitting next to each other, she looked over, "What's got you so nervous?" He smiled at her, "You." "Me? Why?" she asked. "I want to say you ...." he shook his head, "Tell you something." Diane was starting to get worried. He looked so serious, and he was shaking, "What is it baby?" Nick took a deep breath and looked into her eyes, "I love you. I think I've loved you from the ... moment that I woke up in that tent. You've helped me through so much .... and gave up so much to do it. You came to live with me .... when you didn't even know me. And you make me hap-happy. I'm complete with you ... you are my life, my heart .... my everything." Diane was in tears, listening to him. Everything he was saying she felt for him too. Nick pulled his hand out of his pocket, and took her hand in his, "Diane, I could sit here forever and try to find the right words to express how much I love you, and still not find them. I want ... to spend the rest of my life with you. Will ..will you marry me?" She stared at him in shock. Did he just ask me to marry him?, she asked herself. She blinked a few times and looked at him again. He was staring at her with hopeful eyes, then she noticed what he was holding in his hand. It was a ring! She still didn't trust what she was seeing, "S-say that again." He grinned at her, "Will you marry me?" Diane bit her lip and smiled at him through her tears, "Yes, baby." The smiled that crossed Nick's face was beyond anything she'd ever seen. He looked like he was going to die of happiness right there. He slipped the ring on her finger, his hands still shaking. They both laughed at how nervous he was. Then Nick reached up and brushed the tears from her cheeks, "I love you Diane." "I love you too baby, always," she said. They both leaned in and fell into each others embrace. Nick gently kissed her lips, then pulled back when the sun blinded him. He looked over at the waterfall. The sun was setting and casting it's final rays over the water. The waterfall looked like liquid gold as it plunged to the river below. "Look," he said, as the water shimmered like it was filled with thousands of diamonds. "It's beautiful," she said staring at it for a moment. "Nick, how did you get this?" she asked, staring at the ring. She was with him all them time, how did he manage to get this without her knowing? He grinned, "Carter and Brian helped me." "So the guys knew you were going to do this?" she asked, still shocked. He nodded, "For a long time. I just wanted the ... perfect place. When Kevin called about this trip ... I knew it had to be here." She smiled at him, "It is perfect. I love you." He smiled and slid down to the rocks below, offering her his hands as she got down. "We should go back," he said, "It's getting dark." He took her hand in his as they walked back to camp. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "I hope she says yes," Brian said. "Why wouldn't she?" A.J. asked. He shrugged his shoulders, "I dunno, just that we're gonna look stupid if she doesn't." "Don't worry, those two were made for each other," Howie commented. "Yeah, I gotta agree with D," Kevin said, "She's good for him." "And he's good for her," A.J. said. "Shh, here they come," Brian said. The guys watched as the two walked out of the woods and over to the fire. Diane had to laugh. The guys were sitting there with party hats on and stupid grins on their faces. As they got closer they started to applaud and whistle. "Welcome to the family," Kevin said, getting up to hug her. "What would you have done if I said no?" she asked. Nick shook his head, "You weren't allowed to." She laughed, "Well we having a party here or what?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Everyone lay in the tent, trying to go to sleep. Nick and Diane shared a bed, while the rest of the guys doubled up. Nick lay on his side with his arm over her waist. "You know what we have to do now?" she whispered. "What?" he asked. "We gotta plan a wedding," she said. He laughed, "I'll let you do that. Just tell me ... when and where." "Oh no, you aren't getting out of it that easy," she scolded, "It's your wedding too." He smiled at her, "All I want is you, ... I don't care where it is or what flowers we have." She laughed, "Good, then you'll be easy to please huh?" He nodded, pulling her closer and taking her lips with his. He slid his arm up her back to play with her hair, causing her to moan. "Ah hem! Excuse us!" the other guys said. "We love you guys but we don't wanna listen to that," Brian laughed. Nick rolled over and hit him with a pillow, "Then go to sleep already!" They all laughed, then settled down. Nick sighed as he held Diane in his arms. This was his future. Holding her every night, and waking up with her every morning, and he loved it. He smiled, closing his eyes and drifting to sleep. Chapter 50 |