EPISODE FOUR

NEWFOUND FEELINGS

After Stephanie kissed Ben, she pulled away, blushing, not believing she'd actually kissed someone she'd tried so hard to avoid. And when she kissed him, she actually...liked it.

Lionel, Alexis, and Matthew looked on, utterly shocked, too. But they decided the first priority was Stephanie's condition. "Stephanie, honey, are you OK?" Lionel asked.

Stephanie sat up. She felt weak, but she was glad to be alive. "Yes," she said.

"Come on, sweetie," said Alexis. "Let's get you inside and give you something to eat and drink and let you rest." She put her arm around Stephanie and took her down into the cabin. Stephanie lay down on her bed, and Alexis brought in some graham crackers and juice. Stephanie sat up.

"Here, Steph," she said.

"Thank you," Stephanie said as she ate and drank.

"We'll all just stay in here until the storm stops," said Alexis. "Let me go and get the others. You just stay here and rest, honey."

Stephanie nodded, and Alexis left. When she was done eating and drinking, Stephanie closed her eyes and had a dream. Her dream was about Ben. He was getting down on one knee and proposing to her. Then they were married!

Stephanie immediately awoke from the dream, hardly believing she'd dreamed such a thing. Was she falling in love with Ben? She looked up and saw Ben sitting beside her. She quickly pulled him toward her and gave him a big hug, not letting go for a long time.

Ben smiled. After they hugged, he said, "I was checking on you to make sure you were OK."

Stephanie smiled. "Oh, I sure am now." She sat up on the bed. "Ben, I think I didn't give you enough of a chance," she said. "I thought you were a dweeb, but when you risked your life to save me, that's exactly what I always wanted in a guy," she said.

"Really? I'm your kind of guy?" Ben asked, amazed again.

Stephanie nodded. She and Ben kissed.

Alexis told Lionel that they'd better find a place to dock, just in case the storm didn't stop. Lionel struggled through the rain, which blinded his vision a lot, but they finally stopped at a dock where a deck hand helped them to safety.

After they thanked him, the deck hand asked what they could possibly be doing sailing in this weather.

"We're tourists taking California high school kids on a journey to find the legendary cities of gold," Lionel answered. "We've been out on the sea a long time."

"Well, let me get you to a hotel and put your boat somewhere safe," said the deck hand. "This weather is crazy!"

"Tell me about it," said Matthew.

Ben took Stephanie's hand, and it was then that the deck hand noticed their bracelets. "You kids have powerful bracelets that can open and crush whole buildings, even the ones in El Dorado," he said. "Those are ancient bracelets with very destructive powers. What you want to do to open the doors to the cities of gold is only open them HALFWAY and aim them at ONLY the doors."

Ben and Stephanie thanked him for his advice. The deck hand had them check into a Days Inn hotel, where they stayed the night until morning, when the storm had stopped.

TO FOLLOW...

The group stops at a Mexican village, where Rosita Gonzalez, a young girl, reveals the deeper meaning behind the history of the legendary cities of gold to the kids.