Having proved his point to Don and Colby, Charlie dropped his pen and paper on the coffee table and leaned back, snuggling next to Amita. "Hey," he whispered, "did you have fun today?"

"Mmm hmm," she murmured, resting her head on his shoulder. "How about you?"

"Mmm hmm," he tried unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn.

Across from them, Maggie squeezed Ben's hand. "It's been a wonderful day, but long."

"It certainly has." Ben looked up at Charlie and said, "Thank..."

Charlie ran his fingers across his lips, "Tscchh! Zip it!"

Ben laughed. "Oh, behave!"

Maggie laughed, "Bennington Cole, international man of mystery!"

Amita nudged Charlie, "And Dr. Evil, I presume?"

"Give me a frickin' break, Number Two," Charlie snarled.

"Number Two?" Amita said, kissing Charlie's cheek. "I thought I was your Number One."

"She's got you there, Dr. Evil," Alan said, collecting the empty mugs. "Anyone want more hot cocoa?"

"No, thanks," Ben said, standing to help Alan. "I think Maggie and I will retire. It has been a long, but wonderful day."

"And tomorrow promises to be more of the same," Maggie added, picking up the empty cookie plates.

"So the two of you enjoyed your foray into skiing?" Larry asked as he retrieved Megan's empty mug.

"Oh, yes," Maggie said. "I can't wait to go again tomorrow. How about you, sweetheart?"

"I am amazed that I survived the experience, but, yes, I am excited about skiing again tomorrow."

Colby tapped his finger on Charlie's diagram. "Hey, Don. Numbers don't lie. You are going to have your butt handed to you tomorrow."

Charlie glanced at Colby with raised eyebrows. "So now that the numbers are in your favor, you trust 'em?"

"I always trust your numbers, Whiz Kid. I just don't want you to get a big head. Don, what do you say? Care for a little wager?"

"Ooh," David said, grinning, "looks like we're in for fun on the black diamond tomorrow. Colby is willing to put his money where his mouth is!

"Are you in on the challenge, David?" Colby asked.

"Nuh uh, not me, man. I'm just going to take it easy on the slopes tomorrow, but I'll enjoy watching the two of you."

"Charlie?" Don said, "You going to join us on the black diamond? You're always up for a challenge."

Charlie glanced at Amita. "Yeah, I'll try it in the morning, then I'll go back to the green trail with Amita."

"Great!" Colby said, "You can make sure I've got the math right when I kick your brother's butt."

"I don't know, Colby," Charlie said, "Blood is thicker than water. I don't know if I should be helping you..."

Don laughed, "Hey, Buddy. Don't worry about it. I can take Colby any day, even when he's got your help." He stood and stretched, then bent to pick up his mug. "I'm gonna need my rest, though."

"You definitely could use your beauty sleep," Megan said.

"You are so burned, Don," David said, standing. "Goodnight everybody."

The next morning, the group awoke to the smell of bacon, sausage and eggs. Charlie and Amita had taken over the kitchen, and were making breakfast for the hungry hoarde.

"Hey, Chuck, Amita," Don said as he entered in search of coffee. "Breakfast smells great!"

"Thanks," Amita said, smiling. She handed Don a mug of coffee. "Cream and sugar are on the table."

"Wow," Don said, grinning. "I could get used to this."

"Sorry, Bro," Charlie said, "you'll have to find your own woman."

Amita's eyebrows raised as she gave Charlie a glare. "Are you implying that I am your property?"

"She's got you there, Chuck!" Don said as he sat down with his coffee.

"I did not mean to imply anything. You are a strong, independent, intelligent woman. I was simply using a figure of speech."

"Good," Amita said, handing Charlie another package of bacon. "I was about to leave you to finish up by yourself."

After breakfast, everybody pitched in to clean up before they collected their gear and walked to the ski slopes.

When they arrived, Charlie gave Amita a kiss and joined Don, Colby, David and Megan in the line for the black diamond chairlift.

"Charlie," Megan said, "are you sure you're up for this?"

"Yeah, I've skied a double black diamond before, and lived to tell about it."

"Any broken bones?" David asked.

"Nope. I stayed on my feet all the way, too."

"True," Don said, smirking, "but you weren't exactly breaking any speed records there, Buddy."

"Hey, unlike some people, I don't see the need to get everyplace quickly. I enjoyed the trip, and that's the important thing."

Colby chuckled. "This from the guy who's had how many speeding tickets?"

"The radar was faulty. I just haven't figured out how to prove that."

"Five times, Chuck? Five different locations? What are the odds of that?" Don said as he stepped forward to get on the chairlift.

Charlie stepped up on the other side. "The odds are astronomical, but not impossible."

They stepped into their seats and let the lift take them on their way.

Charlie turned around, located Amita and the others, and waved. He grinned as he saw the shrinking figures waving back. "This is fun, isn't it?" He said, grinning at Don.

"Yeah, Buddy," Don smiled. "It really is. You're a great vacation planner."

"Thanks, Don. How long has it been since you've taken a vacation?"

"Too long, Buddy, too long."

"I don't know how you do it, Don. I really don't. I mean, the stuff you see, the people you have to deal with... I would go nuts trying to handle it."

"Nah, you wouldn't. You're seeing a lot of it now. You've even had to deal with some of the slimebags, and you're doing just fine."

"Yeah, but it's not how I spend every single day of every single week. Doesn't it wear on you?"

"It does, sometimes, Buddy. It does. I've really gotta do stuff like this more often: get away from it all, you know?"

"You want to come up here again in February? I'll make reservations."

Don shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know if I'll be able to get away..."

"Just a long weekend, like this. Just you, me and Dad. Megan can handle things for a couple of days. It'll give you something to look forward to. It'll make your everyday hell a little easier to take, you know?"

Don grinned. "Okay. You've talked me into it, Buddy. Make the reservations."

Charlie laughed and punched Don on the arm. "All right! Don Eppes taking two vacations in one year."

"Well, Professor, technically, it's two separate years."

Charlie rolled his eyes. "It's still gotta be a record of some kind."

"Okay, we're almost at the top. You ready?"

"Yep."