Mike awoke the next morning to find himself next to Emily, who was still fast asleep, in her bed. Mike chuckled to himself at the memory of the night before. Yes, Emily was messing with his head, and probably not on purpose, but it sure was nice to have what they had, whatever it was. Careful to not wake her up, Mike rose, gently lifting her arm off from across his chest. He sat up in bed and just looked at her. Asleep, Emily looked innocent as an angel, her long hair spread across her pillow like a golden halo, the bright sun reflecting on her fair skin. She was so beautiful…he had to tell her of his feelings, but how? He had never been this intimidated by a woman before.

Taking one last look of the sleeping Emily, Mike got up, found his clothes, and walked up to deck. The boys weren't up there yet; the only one he saw was Robbie at the wheel still. "Mornin' Robbie," said Mike, walking up to him.

"Good morning, Mike," said Robbie without taking his eyes off the horizon. "How goes it?"

"Goes well," said Mike. There was a brief silence that was filled with tension. Did Robbie know that Mike had just come from Emily's room? He knew that Robbie was taken with her, but was it that much?

"That's good," said Robbie. "How was your night?"

"Just like any other," said Mike. "Yours?"

"Like any other," said Robbie. "But if your night was just like any other for you, you're one lucky guy, aren't you?" Mike was just about to give Robbie a "what was that supposed to mean" when his sharp tongue was rescued by Peter, Micky, and Davy walking back on deck.

"Hey Mike!" Peter greeted. "Robbie."

"Hey there Pete," said Mike filled with relief that he was prevented from starting to go off at Robbie. Perhaps the guys were right; maybe he really was impulsive. "What's going on?"

"Not much, we just woke up," said Davy. "You?"

"Same," said Mike.

Davy looked Mike over once and craned his neck up so he was looking directly at him. "You, come with me," said Davy, and before Mike could so much as reply, Davy yanked him off in the opposite direction, away from everyone else.

"Davy, what's the matter with you?" Mike snapped. "Gimme an explanation!"

"Oh, I'll give you one, but first you gotta give me one!" said Davy. "You did it again, didn't you?"

"Did what again?" Mike huffed, but knowing exactly what was on Davy's mind.

"Come on mate, you bloody well know what," said Davy. "So don't give me that, Peter saw you walking out of Emily's room this morning!"

"That doesn't mean anything happened," said Mike.

"Ah!" exclaimed Davy. "So you admit it!"

"I'm admitting to me being in her room last night," said Mike. "And nothing more, so will you please drop it Davy?"

"Look Mike, both me and that big ol' hickey on your neck know what happened between you and Emily last night," said Davy flatly. "So try not to deny it anymore."

"Big ol' what now?" asked Mike, putting a hand on his neck. Sure enough, although he didn't see it, there was indeed a large hickey on his neck of a brilliant shade of purple, courtesy of Emily. "I'm gonna kill that woman," he grumbled.

"Mike, have you told her how you feel yet?" asked Davy.

"Not yet," said Mike.

"Mike man, you've gotta stop doing this to yourself," said Davy. "And who knows what you're doing to Emily; God bless the man who can get inside her head and understand it."

"Davy, stop worrying so much," said Mike. "Everything's fine, no one's going crazy or getting heartbroken. Will ya just leave well enough alone?"

"No Mike, I can't," said Davy. "Listen mate, you're always there for us when we end up screwing up, and now that you're the one who's about to screw up, we're here for you this time. Either go and tell Emily how you feel or stop everything."

"Come on Davy, like you haven't done anything with Riley," said Mike, refusing to listen.

"Be that as it may," said Davy. "We know we have feelings for each other. You can't compare that to you and Emily fooling around."

"Give it a rest Davy," said Mike. "Look, I'll tell her when I tell her, but right now no one's getting hurt."

"Fine Mike," said Davy, giving up. "Just…be careful, will ya?"

"Careful as I can be," said Mike.

"Hey, guys check this out!" Micky called from a few feet away.

"What's up Mick?" asked Mike as he and Davy walked over.

"We're here everyone," said Robbie. "The mountains are just around the corner." From the side of the ship they were clearly visible—huge, majestic mountains, blanketed with white snow and soaring past the clouds high up in the air. They looked beautiful, but at the same time Mike could not help but remember what Raul and everybody else had said about them being dangerous.

"When should we be arriving?" asked Raul.

"In just a few minutes, I have to find a safe place to dock the ship," said Robbie. "Riley, keep a lookout, will ya?"

"Gotcha Captain," said Riley, smirking at her silliness of calling her older brother "Captain" as she headed up to the crow's nest.

"Okay," said Robbie. "Shall I go and wake Emily up?"

"Nah, I've got it," said Mike sharply. "Besides, you're steering this thing, it'd be a little dumb to leave the wheel like that." Before Mike could hear Robbie's retort, if there was any anyway, he was off below decks to Emily's room.

On the way down, Mike figured that he may as well tell Emily whatever he needed to tell her before Robbie up and stole her away. Of course there was a time and a place for things like that to be said and now wasn't either of those, so Mike was stuck in a bind. He reached Emily's room and saw that once he walked inside she was still fast asleep. He walked up to her and lightly touched her arm. She stirred and groaned a bit, but didn't wake up.

"Emily, Em, wake up," Mike whispered as he softly shook Emily again. He hated to wake her up seeing how peaceful and sweet she looked being asleep and Mike really wanted nothing more than to crawl back in with her, but if they were to make good time, then she had to wake up now.

Emily stirred and groaned some more. "Wazzup…" she mumbled as she slowly opened her sleepy eyes.

"Emily, we're getting to the mountains now," said Mike. "You gotta get up and dressed hon."

Emily coughed a little and sat up slowly. "Okay…" she groaned. Mike smiled; Emily was downright adorable when she was sleepy. Her eyes were halfway shut and heavy, her hair was a frizzy mess that covered her face. "Where are my clothes?"

"Around," said Mike.

"Terrific," said Emily. She went to get out of the bed to get her clothes, but instead she tumbled out of it to the floor, taking most of the sheets with her. She hit the floor with a dull thud and lay there for a moment before getting up to gather her clothes.

"You alright there?" asked Mike as Emily groggily got dressed and fixed her hair.

"I detest mornings," said Emily.

"So I gathered," said Mike. Tired, morning Emily was a far cry from the usual bubbly, ditzy, free-spirited Emily Mike had grown to know and love, and frankly he was quite amused by her now. "Come on Em, you'll wake up soon enough."

"I better," said Emily. "Cause I just don't feel right."

"Maybe some fresh air will help," said Mike. He helped her up the stairs to the deck where everyone still was. The mountains were still very visible and grand over the horizon, reflecting in the water of the river.

"Morning beautiful!" said Robbie cheerily to Emily. "Sleep well?" He gave Mike an all-knowing and possibly murderous look. Of course Mike knew why Robbie would know about last night; that hickey Davy had pointed out earlier was a dead giveaway.

"Well enough," said Emily walking to the side of the ship. "They're quite beautiful…the mountains."

"Well, they don't measure up to a lovely woman Emily," said Robbie. Mike almost felt sorry that Robbie wasn't able to walk over to where Emily was because he wouldn't be able to punch his lights out for his comings-on.

"Yeah, Davy thinks your sister's cute," said Peter out of nowhere, unknowingly saving the day.

"Yeah, I know," said Robbie, sounding defeated. A beast lodged deep inside Mike gave a roar of victory.

"But seriously, what's so wrong about that, huh?" asked Micky, swinging over. "Davy'd make a great brother-in-law!"

"Sure would," said Davy. "Walk your dog and everything."

"Knock it off you guys, can't you see it's bothering him?" said Mike, although he was starting to enjoy every minute of it. "You don't wanna piss off the guy who's steering the ship."

"He's right," said Robbie. "Hey, Riley, see anything up there?"

"Still not so clear," said Riley from up above. "Still a bit further down. And thanks for thinking I'm cute guys!"

"Not a problem love, all in a days' work for us!" called Davy.

"So Raul, how much further to the other side of the island and safety after the mountains?" asked Mike, curious to hear what Raul's answer might be.

"The place is in the mountains," said Raul. "A house of a dear friend of mine; he will help you get back home." Mike saw Emily's face grow scared and stony. That must be her uncle Gary's house Raul was talking about.

"Who's this friend of yours?" asked Mike.

"You shall find out in due time," said Raul icily. Mike wanted so badly to expose Raul's plot to him, but he also wanted to get to where he was taking them. There were so many loose ends he needed to figure out. Why they were going where they were going, why they had Al as prisoner, and just how powerful was that flute. He didn't want to expose any of his friends to danger, but that was what Robbie and Riley were there for.

"Land ho!" came the loud cry from Riley from the crow's nest.

"Alright sister, guide me home!" said Robbie. Following Riley's instructions, Robbie steered the ship into a small crevice where the river ended and the mountains began.

"Steady now, don't scratch her!" Riley said.

"Gotcha," said Robbie as he carefully docked. "Anchor down, somebody!"

"I've got it!" said Peter, but Mike pushed him out of the way and did it himself before Peter could hurt himself or anyone else.

"And we're here!" exclaimed Robbie.

"Very good," said Raul. "I do believe I will take my place back as guide, if it is all right to you."

"You know the mountains better than my sister or me," said Robbie. "You be our guide, but keep us safe, ya hear?"

"You have my word sir," said Raul.

"Just thinking…will it be a little cold up there?" asked Emily. "Do we have any coats?"

"I always travel prepared," said Robbie, approaching Emily. "Just wait right here dear, I'll get some coats for all of us." Robbie went off, followed by Mike's stinging glare. Emily pranced off to get a closer look at the mountains and Riley came down from the crow's nest to Mike.

"You do have a right to be pissed at my brother for taking your lady you know," she said.

"She ain't my lady," said Mike.

"Not yet," said Riley. "Don't think that Davy doesn't tell me things, cause he does."

"Remind me to wring his little neck," grumbled Mike.

Riley laughed. "I probably won't," she said. "But watch out—Robbie is sweet, but he can get competitive."

"I'll be sure to have a look out for him then," said Mike. He walked off to the guys and Robbie returned a few minutes later with coats for everyone.

"Put these on," said Robbie. "They're a little heavy, but they won't let you freeze to death."

"Gee, thanks Robbie," said Peter, taking his and putting it on. "These are really swell."

"Yeah man, groovy stuff," said Micky, putting his on as well.

"Glad you like em," said Robbie. He handed Emily her coat and brushed hands with her. Mike almost lost it there, but kept it together. He could not create a vendetta with someone he trusted out there.

"Okay, I think we're all set," said Mike once everyone was bundled up. "Now the question is how we're gonna get up these godforsaken mountains."

"Simple," said Raul. "We climb them."

"Oh yeah, sounds simple, don't it?" said Mike. "I suppose what I should have said was how do we get up them without killing ourselves!"

"Relax Mike, I have ropes and harnesses," said Raul. "I am a skilled mountaineer, we can survive, I promise you."

"I think it sounds like great fun," said Emily. "I've never been mountain climbing before!"

"Yeah, neither have any of us love and trust me I'd rather hoped not to do it any day," said Davy. "I'm scared of heights I am!"

"Well Davy, that's cause you're never up high, are you?" joked Micky.

"Only these guys can stay having a sense of humor at the base of a who-knows-how-many-foot-tall mountain we're about to climb," said Mike.

"Who knows, it may help," said Riley. "And don't worry about the heights Davy dear, I bet you won't even notice them!"

"Thanks Riley," said Davy, looking sickly as he craned his neck up to look at the peak. "That's very comforting…I'll try to think of that."

"Come on everyone," said Raul, preparing to leave the ship. "If we are to make good time, we must start moving now. We must take our time through the mountains; as I have said before, they are very dangerous."

"Oh, what is danger?" Emily said, spunkily leaping from the ship to the ground. "Come on guys!"

"She may be the death of us," moaned Riley, following her anyway.

"I would have agreed a few days ago," said Mike, also following. "But now…she did save us from that storm you know."

"Not to mention…wait, what else did she do?" asked Peter.

"We're still waiting to see," said Micky. "Who knows, maybe she'll stop an avalanche?"

"I dunno about any of you, but I'm hoping for no avalanche to begin with," said Davy. "Man, I think I'm gonna be sick if I look at the top again…"

"Close your eyes," said Emily. "That way you won't be able to see where the top is!"

"Yeah, and everything else around me too!" said Davy. "I swear, I'm gonna die today!"

"Don't be so scared Davy," said Peter. "If I'm not that scared, you shouldn't be!"

"Ya know what Pete, you're right," said Davy. "I'm just gonna suck it up…be a man and suck it up, that's right, that's what I'll do!"

"That's my Davy!" said Riley, grabbing onto his hand. Robbie had given up on those two by then. Besides, he had Emily distracting him.

"Well…here we are," said Mike as they got to the base of the mountain. "I'm starting to think this is gonna prove difficult."

"It's just a big rock," said Emily. "As long as you think like that, everything will be okay!" Mike sure wished he could think more like Emily sometimes; it would make life much easier. Of course he couldn't be that carefree because of the people and situations he had to take care of all the time, but it would sure make it a hell of a lot simpler to read Emily's complex and strange mind. Just like climbing a mountain…a big, scary, tall, cold mountain. Yep, Mike could sure use a bit of naïveté at the moment for this conquest.