Chapter Text
Once freed from the plane, Penelope grumpily sat down beneath her tree again, pouting.
She hated when he rescued her because she knew he enjoyed it far too much.
She always wondered if that was why they were such good friends; she constantly needed his saving, from sleazy men to her own mother. He did it with all of the women in his life, but it just happened to Penelope so often , like she attracted assholes into her life.
“I’m gonna go look for some water.”
She looked up to see Colin carrying two of their empty water jugs.
“Want to come with me?”
She closed her eyes, bracing herself for a very hot, buggy, sticky afternoon. “Not really, but what else do I have to do?”
“Your enthusiasm is admirable. Please put something on over that…swimsuit. Your tits are so big they’re gonna fall out of it, and I don’t want to deal with you having bug bites all over that particular part of your body.”
She shot him a glare, but all he did was smirk and stare blatantly at her boobs.
“I didn’t want you ogling my tits anyway.”
She stood up and brushed the sand from the backs of her thighs. She picked up the dress from the bush she left it on earlier and pulled it back over her body, still dirty, and snatched a jug from his hand. He glanced at her appraisingly, stopping at her feet.
“Are those sandals all you have?” he questioned.
“Yes? I didn’t think I would need hiking boots in Tahiti,” she grumbled. She only had a pair of shorts, a tee shirt, and two changes of underwear in her bag on the plane. She would have to get creative if they were going to be stuck there for a while.
“I guess they’ll have to do. Step right behind where I step, though. We don’t need you getting stung or bit or something,” he instructed.
“What makes you think I’m the one that’s gonna get hurt here, Mr. Jungle Man? You said yourself you don’t do things like this,” she questioned him.
And he didn’t. Colin, for all of his world traveling, was not much of an outdoorsman unless it involved a cabin and a case of beer. The farthest he ever went off the grid was on his family’s annual skiing trip in the Swiss Alps, and even then they still had electricity.
He knew, however, that Pen had hardly ever left London before, much less spent a night anywhere that could be considered ‘wilderness.’ He doubted that, even if she knew that they would be stranded on a tropical island, she would have any hiking boots to bring with her.
“Just be careful, Pen. Please,” he pleaded with her.
“I promise to not put myself in danger on purpose,” she vowed very dramatically, holding her right hand over her heart. “Now can we get going? I don’t want to be in there after dark.”
He picked up a machete and started off into the jungle.
Penelope’s mouth gaped at the sight.
“Where did you get a bloody machete?”
“I keep one in the plane. It finally came in handy,” he explained.
“They let you get that through security?”
“They do when there is no security.”
It was slow going as he hacked away at brush, vines, and leaves as big as her head, clearing a path for them. There were bugs everywhere, and when she wasn’t watching her steps, Penelope was slapping a bug off her skin.
They seemed to be just…wandering.
“Do you have an idea of where we’re going?” she asked.
“Generally. There are bugs and birds here, so there must be water somewhere. I figure if we go inland, we should find the source. It rained last night, so hopefully whatever stream is here will be running fast and we can hear it.”
Smack !
“ Pppft !” she buzzed her lips as a large fern hit her in the face.
“Sorry, Pen!” he turned back to look at her and give her an apologetic smile before continuing.
They took a few more steps, and–
Whack !
“Fucking hell, Colin. Let me lead if you’re gonna hit me with branches,” she pushed her way in front of him, blazing a path with sheer determination.
Colin, a little dazed by her actions, shook his head.
“I’m sorry! I forget you’re so short, and the sticks that hit me in the chest are going to hit you in the face.”
“I thought you were supposed to be clearing them?” she fumed, still rubbing a sore spot on her face.
“It’s taking too long, and it’s a lot of effort, so I was just doing the stuff by our heads,” he explained.
“Our heads? Just your stupid big head–” she started to grumble.
“Shhhh,” he shushed her.
She whipped her head around. “Did you just shush me?!”
“Yes, I did, now shush . I hear something,” he held up his hand to signal her to stop moving.
Scared by the idea of something in the forest, she paused, listening with him.
Beyond the chirping of birds and the buzz of insects…
There was a dull roar.
“Left! Go left!” he exclaimed, gesturing wildly with his plastic jugs.
Struggling in her shoes, she pushed her way through some more brush for a minute or two, single-mindedly looking, searching through the green, beyond the sticks, when…there it was.
“God, look at that!” she said in awe.
It was a waterfall, a few dozen feet long and dumping into a pool of clear water, a light mist swirling around them. A break in the trees let the sun shine through, creating an ethereal beam that landed in the water.
“Perfect!” Colin shouted over the noise. “We won’t dehydrate! Pen this is–”
“Oh FUCK , WHAT IS THAT?” she shrieked, pointing to his right.
There was a rustling in the reeds, a snuffling and snorting noise coming from the movement.
Pen backed away quickly, her flight instinct taking over. A brown…thing emerged from the greenery. She kept wading back into the water, all the way up to her waist. It felt cold, and her feet sank into the sandy bottom, but it was better than dying to whatever just came out of the jungle.
Colin was incredibly amused at her reaction.
“Pen, it’s only a pig! He’s more afraid of us than we are of–here, watch,” he gestured. “Oi! Gowon! Git! Flee! Shoo!” he waved his arms wildly, causing the creature to back away into some weeds.
“Yeah, fuck off, ya great ham–OHhhh wwwaaAAAA–” her eyes went wide, her arms hovered just above the surface, her whole body frozen, the jugs floating away as she dropped them.
“Pen? What’s wrong?” he stopped making motions at the pig and turned to look at her. Her eyes were wide, her lips slightly parted and her breaths coming in measures.
“There’s a problem,” she squealed.
“Problem? What–” he puzzled.
“ There’sasnakeinmydress ,” she hissed.
“A what?”
“There’s a snake. In my dress,” she stated.
“Oh,” Colin looked very, very worried. “That’s bad.”
“Well, it’s not good, is it?” she snapped.
“It could be poisonous, Pen.”
“Poisonous?” she shrilled. Colin started to wade in next to her. “What do I do? What should I do? Do I just go between my legs and grab it?”
“No, no, don’t do that. It could bite you,” he warned.
“It could bite me right now, you dunce.”
“Just, stand still,” he calmed her, keeping his voice slow and low.
“What are you doing?” she started to panic at his proximity. He was an arm's length from her and coming nearer still.
“Relax.”
The air felt tense as he moved closer, his hand under the water. He grabbed at her dress.
“Wha–ooug–wha you–hah–” she stammered.
“Shut up, Pen,” he ordered, and she snapped her mouth shut. “I need to concentrate.”
“Oh–okay..” she whispered.
“You trust me, don’t you?” he looked into her scared eyes.
“Yes,” she whimpered.
And she did, more than anyone else in the world at that moment.
She knew, deep down, she trusted him with anything.
He reached his hand down between her legs, the snake wiggling around under the fabric of her dress floating around her waist. She rested one of her hands on his shoulder for balance, the other one clutching at her own hair as he stared down at her hips, his palm slipping around her thigh.
“Better not catch you smiling,” she joked, and he smirked at her.
Slowly, so achingly slowly, he lifted up the dress, his other hand slipping up her leg and over to her bikini-covered vulva, touching her as he carefully felt around for–
He gripped something suddenly, taking the snake by the head, yanking it out of the water, and chucking it into some bushes. Pen shrieked the entire time, her arms flailing as they tried to figure out what to do.
And then it was over.
And he still had a hand between her thighs.
“That went better than I anticipated,” she said, still not moving.
Colin, regrettably, removed his hand.
“Was that enough of a ‘man skill’ for you?” he smirked. He pushed off from the bottom, swimming over to grab the jugs that floated away in her panic.
“I would say you shouldn’t let it get to your head, but I know you well enough to see it already has.”
She couldn’t see his face but knew he rolled his eyes. “Come on, grumpy snake pant, help me fill these up so we can go back to the beach. I think I have an idea of what we’ll have for dinner, and it will require a lot of work on my part.”
“It involves that poor pig, doesn’t it?”
“It’s like you’re inside my brain.”
~
Back in London, Anthony Bridgerton sat at his desk in his high-rise office. It was the end of a very, very long day and he wanted nothing more than to go home to his wife and children and eat a large, very unhealthy Nando’s dinner.
He was just turning off his computer and packing up his briefcase for the day when his phone rang.
He saw the caller ID and groaned, hesitating for a moment before picking up the receiver.
“Hello, Agatha. What could you possibly require of me on this fine Tuesday–”
“Spare the pleasantries, we have a problem,” she interjected.
“A prob–”
“Your brother and Penelope did not arrive in Tahiti last night.”
Oh.
“Why was Penelope going to Tahiti? Isn’t she in London? I know Colin’s over there right now, but–”
“She is vacationing in Bora Bora and I asked her to head over for a day to write an article on Michael. I hired Colin as a charter flight, and I guess there was a storm or something,” she explained.
“Well, did they have to turn back to Bora Bora mid-flight?” he asked.
“I already checked. They aren’t there, either,” she stated. She sounded frantic, which was highly unusual for the stoic woman.
“And they didn’t go to a neighboring island?”
“No. They’re missing, Anthony,” she stated. “They can’t find his plane, the GPS turned off in the middle of the flight. They could have been struck by lightning, or blown off course by wind, or–”
His brother and a long-time family friend were missing in the Pacific Ocean.
“Fuck,” he hissed into the receiver, his mind racing. “I told Colin I would buy him a newer plane than that stupid Beaver thing he insisted on taking everywhere. I’ll fly out as soon as I can. Are there search parties organized already? How many? I’ll pay to double them–” he rambled.
“There’s something like four teams checking the water and any islands on their route. It’s only been about 12 hours, so chances are they’re still floating around or, even better, they landed somewhere and are waiting for rescue,” she tried to reassure him.
“I’m going to Tahiti. I need to search for myself. Let me know if anyone else wants to assist.”
“I’m sorry, Anthony. If I didn’t ask Penelope–” she started.
“You couldn’t have predicted any of this, Mrs. Danbury. No one is at fault.”
“I still feel guilty,” she sighed.
“I know the feeling. Call me with any updates.”
“I will.”
He hung up to see Eloise standing at his door, her brows furrowed.
“Pen is missing?”
“Yes, she and Colin were supposed to fly to Tahiti and they never showed up.”
“She told me Agatha asked her to work yesterday. Do they know what happened?”
“They know the GPS stopped over the water, and there was a storm. They’ve sent out search parties, but I’m going there myself as soon as I can–”
“I’m coming with you,” she insisted.
Anthony sighed. While he admired her determination, he wasn’t sure it was the best idea for his younger sister to slow him down. “El, don’t you think–”
“I only think that my best friend and my brother were in some sort of crash, and are desperately requiring rescue, and another pair of eyes could make all the difference. I’m coming with you.”
She clearly was not going to back down.
He relented. “Fine. I’ll book your flight with mine. I’m leaving as soon as I can, so go home and pack and be ready to get in the car. I’ll send one to take you to the airport. I won’t wait for you.”
“I know you won’t,” she smiled, and a few tears slipped down her cheeks. “They’re gonna be okay, right Ant?”
He walked over to her and wrapped her up in his arms. “I hope so, El. I don’t want to lie to you so I won’t say they’ll be fine, but I really, really hope they are.”
“I’m scared,” she sniffled, her tears dampening his suit jacket.
He leaned into her, resting his head on top of hers. “Me too.”