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TITLE: Something Lost, Something Found. By : Aryea CHAPTER 12 Preston glanced across out the window of the small passenger plane, hoping that it would hold together long enough for them to get back to the States and catch a connecting flight to Boston. They were the only passengers aside from a couple and their livestock in the back. He had been dubious when Sydney drove them to the small desert landing strip and he caught his first glimpse of the plane that was to carry them for the next several hours. He’d made studier aircraft out of the cardboard models his father used to buy him, surely? Sydney however, assured him that this was the first plane out and they wanted to leave before anything else happened; besides she claimed to have traveled in much worse. His gaze drifted across the isle, to another set of old and slightly tattered seats, and rested upon Nigel, who was sleeping, his head resting against the small, window and his arms folded across his chest. His face was clean-shaven, no doubt with help from Sydney, and he looked peaceful and relaxed for the first time since they had found him. He glanced up as Sydney returned from the bathroom and took her seat beside Nigel. The rickety plane bounced with sudden turbulence and Nigel moaned her name in his sleep. Sydney gently touched his arm and he settled again. “Syd?” Preston asked, moving over one seat to be closer to her. He kept his voice low, so as not to disturb Nigel. She glanced at Preston as she pulled out a magazine from her bag to flip through. “Yeah?” “Do you think he’ll be okay?” She nodded. “I’m sure he’ll be fine.” She turned her eyes back to Nigel for a moment. “He’s a real trouper.” “Yeah,” Preston agreed, that was what he needed to know. Nigel would be okay which meant that things could return to normal and he could now pursue Sydney with a clear conscience. “I think I’ll spend some time in the states, maybe… maybe hang around with him for a bit.” Sydney smiled. “I think that’s a great idea, Preston.” She understood how scared the Englishman had been at the thought of losing his brother; it was nice that he wanted to start making amends right away. “It won’t be easy; no one holds a grudge like Podge.” “Well, a good start to his forgiveness is to stop calling him that, Preston-you know he hates it.” Preston grinned. “I know, that’s why I do it, hey I can’t stop tormenting him all together; he is my little brother.” “There’s a lot of history between you two, isn’t there?” Sydney asked, as Nigel moaned again, and, as if sensing her presence, turned toward her in sleep, and rested his head on her shoulder. “Nigel never really talks about it, but I sense a lot of resentment when it comes to you.” Preston adjusted his seat and glanced out the window; glad the seat next to him was empty. “Yeah, well, it swings both ways, Syd.” “So, what happened to cause it? Nigel seems pretty easy going, he doesn’t seem the type to hold a grudge.” She grinned. “Thank God or he’d never have lasted as my assistant.” “Just…years of doing the wrong things for the wrong reasons and taking the term sibling rivalry one step too far.” “You said before that you were jealous of him, can I ask why?” Preston shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable. He didn’t want to talk about this; he’d only brought the subject up to see her reaction. He couldn’t have imagined the looks that she had given him, the way that she laughed at his jokes, so surely she would like the idea of him spending time with her in the states? “If you want me to mind my own business, that’s okay.” “No,” he said, not wanting her to think he was insensitive. “It isn’t that.” He smirked and shook his head. “I suppose if anyone can help me figure my little brother out it would be you, I’ve never seen him closer to anyone than he seems to be with you, Sydney. I’ll admit, I’m jealous, even over that.” “Why?” “Because, it’s Nigel. I don’t need any other reason.” Preston ran his hands over his face, suddenly looking his age. “Like I said, he was always so smart so…I don’t know. My parents adored him; they showered him with attention like they never did me. He was their little protégé and he certainly exceeded their expectations.” “All siblings go through that; you can’t still be clinging to it after all this time?” Sydney asked, startled. “I don’t know what it is about him, Syd, honestly, but he just infuriates me. I love him to death, and I’d die if anything happened to him, but I hate him too, because things always seem to come so easy for him.” Sydney frowned, were they talking about the same Nigel? Sure, when it came to attracting women and research he was amazingly quick, but anything else he struggled at. “I think you’re exaggerating, Preston. I’ve watched Nigel over the last couple of years and, yes his knowledge of ancient civilizations is unprecedented, but he works hard to make it so.” “I know he’s smart…” “Smart? Preston, it’s than just being smart to reach the level of intelligence that Nigel has. He’s only in his twenties, is classified as an expert in our field, and he speaks a dozen ancient and modern languages. He can decipher ancient hieroglyphics in a matter of minutes and make the right judgment every time, when it comes to finding the clues that will lead to a relic.” “Look, I already know he’s good at that…” “Good!” Sydney repeated. “Preston, it takes most people years and years to reach his level and with everything he already knows, he still has room for more; his memory is phenomenal. He’s always studying, always learning because he’s disciplined himself to do so, not because he automatically knows everything the minute he opens a book.” She shook her head. “Nothing comes to him easily, Preston; especially when we’re on a hunt, but he learns, he adapts and he does the best that he can, which is all anyone, can ask. How can you be jealous of someone who is working so hard to be the best he can be?” Preston nodded. “I know, I know all that, really. I am proud of him, but I…I don’t know. Like I said, I always felt I had to work harder than he did for things. When we were kids I…I tended to take out my resentment on him. Anything he got into, I got into, just to prove that I was better.” He lowered his head, ashamed. “Including any women that came into the picture. That was something I was always better at than him. Nigel could attract them easily enough, but he didn’t have the…finesse I suppose to keep them.” “So you’d swoop in and steal them from him?” “I never said I was proud of it, but yes.” Sydney scowled, resisting the urge to reach across and slap him. She wondered if Preston realized the damage he’d done to Nigel, how self-conscious and insecure Nigel was around women now. “Now, I suppose you’re mad at me too?” Sydney sighed and glanced back at him. “No, it isn’t my place to be mad at you, but you and Nigel really need to talk this out. Staying around while he gets better is a good start.” “Yeah, thanks, Sydney.” He stood. “Think I’ll go find the loo, excuse me.” Sydney nodded and looked down at Nigel, settled against her. She pulled her leather jacket from the back of the seat in front of her and draped it over Nigel. She shifted in her seat and set the magazine aside, before she rested her head atop his. She could do with a nap herself.
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