Title : Rain
chapter: 2
Author: Squeezynz
Universe: Land of the Giants
Rating: PG, Adventure
Spoilers: hardly
Archive: Sure, just let me know
Feedback: always cherished
Disclaimer: blah blah blah Irwin Allen, blah blah blah

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The wind finally dropped an hour or so before dawn. Valerie had been up and stoking the fire back into life by the time the sun rose and shone blearily through the dust covered windows of the shack. She had slept long and deeply, thankful that Mark had been there beside her. She was quickly becoming accustomed to his presence in the tent at night, and she wondered how she was going to cope when they got back to the others. Maybe it was time things changed, already their relationship seemed to be moving forward, albeit slowly, but forward none the less. Did she want this ? Valerie gave that query a resounding yes. She had been attracted to Mark from the beginning, but given the outlandish environment and bizarre situations that they all found themselves having to cope with, it wasn't exactly conducive to a romantic attachment. Plus there were the rest of the group to consider. Their first year on the planet of the Giants had been one long continuous chase, it seemed in hindsight. Fearful for their lives and sanity, they were only able to think of the here and now, never the future, and never the question of "what if this is all there is"...oh god, to consider that there would never be a chance of rescue or escape from this nightmare...no that was an avenue Valerie was neither equipped or willing to cope with right now. But all that aside her relationship with Mark was going somewhere, it was just the where and the when she hadn't quite got to grips with yet. Certainly their resolution of the sleeping arrangements had been mutually agreed, and on her part, wholeheartedly endorsed. Although it was never a good idea to appear too eager, she nevertheless hoped that Mark realised she was willing to share whatever she had with him, and whatever he might want from her. It was just the bit about putting all that into words that was finding the usually erudite Valerie lost for words.

Mark was stirring by the time the sun had cleared the broken front door, and Valerie had had a chance to survey their present bolt hole. All in all it wasn't as bad as it had looked last night. There was no real evidence of the rodent they'd scared away. Maybe it had just been trying to get out of the rain as well. The mirror certainly was worth a closer look, and in daylight it was clear to see it had suffered a bit of damage on its journey towards the floor. A huge crack careened across one corner, but the frame had largely protected the rest. On the other side of the room from their table was a mouldering couch that looked as if a family of gophers had started making it their home, stuffing was poking out of numerous holes, and it sagged at one end. The window behind the couch didn't have an unbroken pane left, but a weathered wooden shutter kept the worst of the weather out still. From her vantage point on the floor Valerie wasn't able to see if there was anything useful on the table, but a chair that looked fairly intact would remedy that in short order, she would ask Mark when he woke up if he intended to look up there later. At the back of the shack was a door that looked as if it would lead into another room, which Valerie suspected might be a bedroom, something else to investigate after breakfast.

Mark crawled out of his blankets and stood and stretched. His muscles were protesting slightly from yesterdays extended workout, but considering his age, he felt fitter than he ever had on Earth. At 37 he was the eldest of the younger men, but he was also the tallest and the most heavily muscled, which more than made up for any deficit in age. He checked the clothes left out to dry the night before, and they all were nearly, if not quite, ready to put on again. Mark decided to forego his usual morning shave in favour of the breakfast brewing over the fire. Just can't start the day without coffee, even if it is the terrible stuff the Giants pass off as coffee...beggars can't be choosy, and Little People take what they can get. It smelled good enough in the morning, and Valerie seemed to get it just right for his taste. She had also rationed out the last of the bread, which was just about palatable after being dunked in the coffee. Valerie handed Mark a mug as he crouched down beside the fire with her.

" Good morning...seems the storm has blown itself out, has it stopped raining as well ?" Mark took a chunk of bread from Valerie and started to ease it into his mug.

" Its not nearly as heavy but its still drizzling, and the sky looks greenish, as if there's going to be a thunderstorm later, I don't fancy our chances of making much progress today " Valerie sipped her coffee and snuck a glance at her sleep rumpled bedmate.

Mark yawned " I guess we could play hookey and just restrict ourselves to checking out the shack...I mean, we may find something really useful if we spend the time to look thoroughly."

Mark dunked his bread and chewed while Valerie sipped her coffee and wondered how to start on the topic of their relationship.

" Mark....."

" yeah"

" do you ever think about the future ?"

Mark looked over at Valerie and tried to fathom where she was going with this.

" sometimes....why do you ask?"

Valerie sighed in frustration and decided to try a different line.

" Mark do you think we will ever get off this planet ?"

Mark was starting to realise where Valerie was leading him and he didn't feel quite up to the challenge this early in the day.

" Val I would like believe we have a chance of repairing the Spindrift, I just don't think its going to be an overnight event. We've all worked our tails off, trying to repair the damage, and I know that Steve and Dan are more than hopeful of making some serious headway this week."

Valerie appeared to think.

" Yes I know all the pep talk, but what I'm asking is do you personally think we have a chance of getting back to Earth, and if not, when do we start making some serious plans for our future on this planet, because I'm starting to feel that we need to be better situated, living arrangement wise, than stuck in an overgrown patch of weeds, hanging onto a ship that will never fly again, and will possibly get us caught one day."

Mark watched Valerie's face as she made this, to him, astounding speech. Up until now, Valerie had been the staunchest supporter of the Back to Earth cheer squad, and here she was, putting all their worst fears into speech. Mark had already faced the fact that to get the ship off the ground was going to require more than a few miracles, given the rate of deterioration while it sat unused on the ground, and given the appalling lack of anything remotely useable in their size here on this planet. But up until now he had never voiced those fears or faced those facts head on, and now Valerie had prized the lid of the whole messy jar and wanted him to examine the contents with her, and to reach what conclusion, he really didn't know. Valerie was still looking at him expectantly, and Mark realised he had been staring at her again. This time she was more exasperated than amused, as if she thought he was not taking her seriously, when in fact he was taking her completely seriously and was simply struck dumb due to the sheer terror of voicing these dark and desperate thoughts out loud.

Mark cleared his throat and attempted to marshal his thoughts.

" Valerie....I don't want to give voice to my own opinion of the state of the Spindrift, because its not fair to destroy forever the faith the others have in our ability to return to Earth some day. But to be honest with you, and I think we can be honest with each other..." here Mark paused to check if he had Valerie's undivided attention, " I believe that we may never get the Spindrift off the ground again, and our only hope lies in another ship successfully reaching this planet through the space anomaly and rescuing us " there, he'd said it at long last.......Valerie was looking at him with a sort of fixed expression that Mark thought could be hiding sheer terror at the prospect of never seeing anything 'normal' sized again. She, out of all their group had had too many close encounters with the Giants, both the people and the animals, and she had more reason than most to want to leave this place, but Mark realised that Valerie placed great store by his opinion and what he had just told her confirmed her worst fears. Never mind they were his too, she believed in his integrity and honesty and would now have to face the truth. Terror was mild compared to what Mark suspected she was really feeling.

Valerie suddenly stood up, upsetting her cup of coffee, Mark straightened up as well and they stood there, Valerie slightly shaking, as the enormity of his words overwhelmed her. Suddenly she was in his arms and they were holding on for all they were worth, as if they could squeeze the words back and make it all right again just from the force of human contact. Mark could feel Valerie's shoulders shaking as she burrowed into his shoulder, there was nothing he could say or do except hold her and let the terror wash away. They still had the world outside to cope with, but in this moment there was only the two of them and that had to be enough for now.

Too soon Valerie's grip loosened and her body stopped shaking, she pulled back slightly to look up into Marks concerned face. The shack had become so quiet that she could make out the patter of the rain on the roof, and the gurgle of the water in what remained of the guttering of the house. The fire crackled next to them and Valerie felt like this was a moment out of time, a moment when the rest of life could be put on hold. Just a short moment, then it would all too soon flood back. The total horror at the prospect of never leaving this hellish world almost overcame her common sense. Mark was watching her warily, as if he expected her to explode or fly apart any minute, the fact that she wanted to do both those things made her smile wryly to herself at his concerned expression. Of course she should have realised that Mark would only tell her the truth, and that he had already had to face this revelation himself. She was lucky that she had Mark to cling to, he had had to face this on his own, not telling anyone his darkest fears. Valerie leaned into Mark, more gently now, without the desperation of a minute ago, and hugged him to her. Mark pulled her tighter into his embrace and wrapped his arms about her, as if trying to shield her from whatever she feared. Of course he couldn't erase the truth, but atleast she now knew more clearly where he stood in relation to her, and with that knowledge there was a hope they could face it together.

As she snuggled into his hug Valerie considered her physical awareness of Mark from the very earliest days on this new world.

Valerie had always known that Mark was attracted to her in a purely Alpha male way right from the start. He and Steve had vied for the leadership of the group from the first day, and they had had several bruises and sore jaws from their ongoing battle for supremacy. But ultimately Mark had shown that he had a very soft side to him, a side that always made sure that no-one was left behind on the trail. A selflessness that ensured that he was usually the last in line to protect the rear. He always made sure she and Betty negotiated the perils of this Giant world, ready to catch them if they fell, or to stand between them and the danger if need be. It had often only needed the presence of Mark there with them to instil a sense of courage when they were sorely tried. It was also his understanding of right and wrong that made them question and clarify major decision made by Steve, their Captain and acknowledge leader, although Valerie had to admit to herself that Mark had acted entirely on impulse more than once, without considering the moral implications of his actions. The incident with Marna had been a harsh lesson . Often Mark and Steve were completely polarised in their opinions, but that in itself helped the others in the group pull together, and ultimately that was the only reason they had survived so long. Dan was and would always be Steve's best friend, but Mark was the backbone of Steve's support and together they had all managed to achieve what can only be described as a miraculous survival, given the evidence since revealed about the fate of all the previous ill fated spacecraft that had encountered the anomaly and been catapulted to this Land of the Giants.

Given the groups' dynamics and close friendships, it came as no surprise to anyone when Marks partiality for Valerie became more noticeable. He always took great care to make sure she was safe...using his body to shield her, and his arms to catch her or guide her. She had come to expect his touch whenever they were doing anything, from the mundane to the life-threatening. It had become a comfort and a reassurance for Valerie, and now she needed that reassurance by the bucket load. And it appeared that Mark was more than willing to provide whatever she needed, and to go where ever she led.

Mark could feel that she had calmed down sufficiently now, so he pulled away and took Valerie's hand and sat down, pulling her into his side so she rested her head on his shoulder. His cashmere poloneck was soft under her cheek and she nuzzled ever so slightly, enjoying this new closeness. For his part, Mark sat and inhaled the scent of her hair. The girls had taken to rinsing their hair with the juice of a fruit that bore a strong resemblance to a football sized lemon. It was almost surreal sitting in this broken house, watching the flames lick the rotten wood, and holding this woman in his arms, this woman that had been so much a part of his life for the last 2 years. And to think that he had barely glanced at her in the Spaceport waiting room, all that time ago, Mark smiled to himself as he remembered that day, all that had been important to him was his deadlines, and his multi-million dollar contracts. How insignificant that all was, weighed against ones own survival, against all odds. Through it all he and this strange group of people had managed to overcome their natures and create an effective and efficient working unit. It was something to be proud of, and more so because it had allowed Mark to once again connect with people, not just as commodities, but as people at their most basic. Now to have this connection with Valerie grow and become integral with every aspect of his current life, it was almost more than he could comprehend. And yet here she was, leaning on his shoulder.

Where to go from here. Both Valerie and Mark were considering this exact problem while they contemplated the fire and the vagaries of life that had catapulted them to this moment in time.

All to soon the coffee had cooled, and the fire died down to an ember. Mark gave Valerie's shoulder a final squeeze then rose and started back towards the tent.

" I'm guessing that there's a bedroom at the back of the shack " Valerie pointed out the door as Mark turned round. "do you want to start our search there ?"

Mark quickly looked around at the now gloomy but illuminated room and, as Valerie had done, surmised that there was little they could use, apart from the mirror. " The back room it is " Mark reached over and picked up the bag of ropes from beside the tent, tossing the water bottle to Valerie to put into her smaller pack.

Together they doused the remains of the fire, then started to walk towards the back wall. They reached the mirror without incident and walked behind it to see what the back had to offer. It did indeed had silver oxide on the back after Mark had scraped a small corner with his pocket knife. They would come back to that later. While Mark was behind the mirror Valerie got the radio out of her pack and tried to raise the Spindrift. She had meant to call Steve last night but exhaustion had overcome her best intentions. Now she pulled the aerial to its furthest extension and pressed the button.

"Calling Base Camp, come in Base Camp, do you read me ?"

There was a brief hiss of static then Steve's voice came in weakly.

" Base Camp to Scout One, we hear you Val, how's it going out there ?"

Valerie turned the receiver up to full volume

" I can hardly hear you Steve, we found a shack not far from where you thought it might be, we camped here last night, and Mark and I are just starting our exploration now "

" That's great news, how's Mark coping with the travois ?"

Valerie looked over to where Mark had disappeared behind the mirror

" Well he seems to be coping fine, we've found a giant mirror covered in silver oxide, Mark thinks you might find a use for the oxide, we could bring back quite alot if you think it might be useful "

" I'll confer with Dan and let you know about that Val. Fitzhugh and Barry came back this morning, the rain made the fishing almost impossible so they packed up early. When do you think you and Mark will be heading back ?"

" I'll have to get back to you on that Steve, we may have to wait out the heavy rain, as the track was all but impassable getting here. We did find a few interesting fruit on the way here, we've got samples so you can have fun when we get back "

Valerie could here the chuckle in Steve's voice

" That's great Val, we look forward to seeing what you've found. Take care out there..."

" Okay Steve, we'll call you again tomorrow with an update on our ETA. Bye "

" Bye Val"

Valerie clicked off the radio and packed it away again. Mark had come around the mirror and caught the tail end of her conversation.

" Anything I need to hear about from Steve ?"

" No, he just said he was looking forward to seeing our 'treasures', and he would call us back about the oxide"

" Okay, well lets press on then " Mark put away his knife and turned towards the back door. Up close it was only marginally in better condition than the door they had come through last night. The paint was peeling and the wood had started to spring its joints with the damp. Mark didn't fancy any Giants chances of being able to open the door without a fight, as it was warped and swollen from the rain.

The gap at the bottom was clogged with dust bunnies and webs, so it took them awhile to clear enough space to crawl under. On the other side they had a clear view of the room, which turned out to be a bedroom afterall. The bed frame sagged and the mattress had been stacked against one wall. Apart from the bed there was a dressing table with no drawers and behind this, on the wall, a patch approximately the shape of the mirror in the other room, so that mystery was solved, obviously the previous occupant had intended to take the mirror with them, but dropped it and left it behind instead. There were still curtains at the windows but they were tattered and mildewy. A wardrobe door hung open in one corner and Mark moved to see inside its dusty interior.

" Nothing but cobwebs and old clothes hangers in here, not even an old box or suitcase, whoever left here certainly cleaned the place out."

Mark sneezed as a cloud of dust fell on him as he pushed against the door of the wardrobe to let more light in.

Valerie had wandered over towards the mattress to see if there was anything behind it. As she approached the rustling sound heard the night before suddenly erupted in front of her. She quickly started to back away, but not before an inquisitive nose twitched out from behind the edge of the mattress.

" MARK " Valerie turned and ran back towards Mark, not bothering to see it the animal came any further into the room.

Mark had turned at Val's call and was moving towards her. He swung the hatchet at his side, it was a pitiful enough weapon but it was all they had.

The nose had emerged and was shown to have two pink ears, it was indeed a house mouse the size of an elephant, but it didn't seem too keen to venture beyond the mattress, and shortly it pulled its head back in and went back to industriously rustling, obviously making use of the mattress stuffing for a nest.

Valerie arrived slightly out of breath beside Mark, and rested her hands on her knees as she stood and calmed herself.

" I hate mice, I just hate them."

Mark patted her on the back and took another quick look around before turning back to her

" I don't think we'll find anything much in this room, why don't we turn back and see what's on that table out there."

Valerie straightened and looked at him gratefully.

" I was going to ask you about that table, we should have enough rope to reach the chair, then across to the table, no problem"

Mark smiled to himself at her obvious avoidance of any comment about her reaction to the mouse.

" Okay, then lets get back there. "

Mark headed off towards the bedroom door, they slid under it on their bellies then started the trek to the chair.

The sun was starting to climb, and seemed to be getting brighter, maybe Valerie's wish for the rain to stop would come true afterall.