"What the hell is that horrible noise?" Cosima complains as she's jostled from a very sweet dream involving Delphine and s'mores.

"My alarm," Delphine answers as she reaches over Cosima and turns it off.

"Why's your alarm going off?"

"To wake me up."

"But why?" Cosima groans.

"Cosima, it's Monday, we have ski group today."

"Cancel," Cosima insists as she pulls Delphine's arm back around her body.

"Non," Delphine kisses Cosima's cheek and pulls her arm back, "I'm getting up and so are you."

Delphine pulls back the covers and Cosima yelps, "Excuse me, I'm naked here and there's a draft!"

"Then get up, get dressed, and you won't be naked any longer," Delphine replies as she makes her way to the bathroom.

"I hate Mondays," Cosima grumbles.

"Would you like Mondays better if they started with me and you in the shower?" Delphine asks as she turns on the water.

"I guess that would make Mondays slightly more palatable," Cosima decides as she eagerly jumps out of bed and hurries to join Delphine.

Delphine zips up Cosima's jacket as they stand at the door, "Ready?"

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

Delphine leans down and kisses Cosima.

"As much as I thoroughly enjoyed that," Cosima grins, "it's not what I meant."

Delphine crinkles her forehead, "No? What else?"

"Gemma," Cosima reminds.

"Oh, right, thank you." Delphine rushes to the mini bar, plucks three chocolate bars out of it, and places them in her inside jacket pocket.

"Now we're good to go," Cosima asserts as she opens the door.

"Maybe you should wait a few minutes, then follow," Delphine suggests after they pick up their ski equipment. "If we arrive at the same time, and any of the children see, we'll never hear the end of it."

"I can't believe we have to sneak around behind the backs of four little kids. They know we're dating."

"Dating and showing up together to class when we never have before are two very different things. I want them to focus on the lesson not what we've been up to."

"Okay, fair enough," Cosima agrees. "Go ahead, I'll see you in a few."

Delphine leaves and Cosima chants The Elements song to herself. When she gets to the end, she decides enough time has passed and heads out to join the group.

The kids have all gathered around Delphine as Cosima arrives. "Oh, look, there's Cosima now," Delphine points out.

"What's up, hellions? Did you have lots of fun this weekend?" Cosima asks as she gives them all high fives.

"Yeah, did you?" Gemma grins knowingly.

"I did indeed have a very nice time, thank you for asking."

"Okay, wonderful, we all had a great weekend, now it's time for a great last week of ski lessons," Delphine puts a quick end that conversation. "As promised, we are moving on to Bleu 2."

"Yay!" the kids cheer.

"Let's get warmed up and then we'll head up the mountain."

After running through some exercises, the kids rush to the get in line for the lift. All but one kid.

"Ahem," Gemma coughs with her hand outstretched.

Delphine reaches into her pocket and hands over a candy bar.

"One?" Gemma complains. "The deal was a few."

"Yes, and you'll get two more at the end of the lesson if you maintain your end of the bargain. No discussing anything you saw between Cosima and I yesterday. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am," Gemma assures as she takes a bite of the confection and goes to join the others.

"What are the odds she'll keep her lips zipped?" Cosima wonders.

"Never underestimate the power of chocolate."

They all assemble at the top of the slope, "Ok," Delphine starts, "as this is our first day on this piste, we will ski the first run together. After, I will allow you a free ski and you may use parallel or wedge before we start the next lesson on carving."

They take the first descent nice and slow, learning the curves and terrain of the new slope. After they take one more run in their pairs, Delphine begins the lesson.

"Carving, do any of you know what that is?"

"Like cutting up a turkey?" Oscar answers.

"That is one definition of carving, yes, but I'm referring to the skiing maneuver." Nobody seems to have any idea what she's talking about so Delphine continues. "Carving is when you make a turn by tilting your skis onto their edges and using your weight to bend them so the shape of the ski makes you turn. As you're skiing downhill, parallel, with your feet hip-width apart, you're going to roll your knees and ankles into the slope. As you roll onto the edges, the skis will turn naturally. Just let them do the work they're intended to do, you never want to force it." Delphine does a demonstration for the group.

"Now we'll all try together. To start, we will ski down this gentler part of the slope and, as we go down, you're going to practice rolling your knees and ankles from side to side. This will help get a feel for skiing on the edges."

They all follow Delphine's example, gently practicing carving from side to side in a more or less straight line.

"Very good. Now I want you to try carving into wider turns, remember not to force it. Gemma and Oscar, why don't you go first." The siblings start down the slope. "Ladies," she extends her arm down the hill for Kira and Charlotte, "after you." The girls begin their descent. "Cosima, shall we?"

"Yeah, let's do this," Cosima pumps herself up before she and Delphine take their turn.

Cosima makes her first turn perfectly, but as she rolls her knees and ankles in the opposite direction, she overdoes it, causing her to flop over into the snow.

"Are you okay?" Delphine asks as she helps Cosima up.

"Yeah, it worked."

"What did?"

"Picturing you naked. I didn't even feel that fall."

"I'm glad I could help," Cosima giggles. "Now go," she slaps her butt, "work on your carving technique. Don't tip so far on the edges."

"You got it coach."

Cosima manages to make it down the rest of the slope unscathed.

"How did that feel?" Delphine asks the group.

"It was a little awkward," Charlotte admits. "It kinda feels like I'm going to fall over."

"Feels like?" Cosima questions. "I did."

"Shocker," Gemma snickers.

"It does take some getting used to, but once you do, it'll become second nature," Delphine assures.

They head back up the mountain and set off in their pairs. "Remember, you don't need to tilt so far, it should feel natural as you glide onto the edges," Delphine reminds Cosima as they're about to start their run.

"I'll try my be—"

"Owwwww!" a voice screams.

"Help!" another shouts.

"Was that Kira?" Delphine asks.

"And Charlotte," Cosima adds worriedly as they quickly ski down in the direction of the girls.

"Oh no, Kira. What happened?" Delphine asks worriedly as she kneels down beside the crying child.

"A man on a snowboard cut her off," Charlotte relays.

"I got scared and didn't want to collide with him so I fell. It hurts so bad," Kira wails.

"Where does it hurt, Kira?"

"My ankle," she sobs.

"Okay, don't worry, we're going to get you taken care of." Delphine pulls a walkie talkie out of her pocket, "Patrouille au bleu 1. Skieur blessés. J'ai un skieur avec une blessure à la cheville."

"En route," a man responds.

"Make it stop," Kira bawls.

"Here," Cosima sits down beside her and takes Kira's hand in hers. "I want you to put all your strength into squeezing my hand as hard as possible, just transfer the pain to me. Ok?"

Kira nods and squeezes Cosima's hand, while Delphine smiles at Cosima's kind gesture.

"Kira, are you alright," Gemma asks as she and Oscar arrive by her side.

"No," Kira sniffles, "it hurts."

"What did this man look like?" Delphine asks Charlotte.

"He was wearing a black ski jacket and black cap."

"Anything else you remember?"

"He looked at me with a really creepy smile and he had a nasty scar down his cheek," Kira adds through staggered gasps.

"Is that the guy?" Gemma points in the distance.

"Yes, that's him," Charlotte confirms just as two ski patrolmen pull up on snowmobiles.

"Cette homme skiait de façon imprudente et a fait tombé cette petite fille," Delphine explains to one patrolmen as she points towards the culprit.

"Je vais parler avec lui," the man says as he rides off.

"Hello, I'm Christophe," the other man says as he kneels down to check on the patient. "What's your name?"

"Kira."

"Kira, can you tell me where it hurts?"

"My right ankle," she whimpers, squeezing Cosima's hand harder.

"Okay, I am going to stabilize your leg and take you to get checked out by a doctor. Is that okay?" Kira nods and he gets a plastic leg stabilizer from his vehicle. "Now, I'm going to strap you onto this gurney which will allow me to pull you down to the medical clinic."

"Wait, I want my daddy."

"I will call him and have him meet you there," Delphine assures.

"But I don't want to go alone," she cries.

"How about I go with you?" Cosima suggests. "Would you like that?"

"Yes," Kira nods.

"You got room for one more on that thing, Christophe?"

"Indeed, I do," he confirms as he gets Kira strapped in.

Delphine grabs Cosima's hand as she's about to get on the snowmobile, "Thank you."

"I'll update you as soon as we see the doctor," Cosima promises.

"Okay." Delphine goes over to Kira, "You're in good hands. I will check on you later."

"Bye, Kira, feel better," the kids wave as Christophe drives off.

At the clinic, a doctor examines Kira and orders an x-ray. As Cosima and Kira are waiting on the results, the door to the exam room swings open.

"Daddy!" Kira shouts as a bearded man enters.

He gives her a hug and kiss, "How are you, sweetheart?"

"I fell and hurt my ankle."

"I heard, Delphine called me. I'm so sorry I couldn't get here sooner, I was across town."

"It's okay, Cosima stayed with me."

"Hi, I'm Cal, Kira's dad," he extends his hand.

"Cosima, nice to meet you."

So you're the famous Cosima I've been hearing about, the adult who mistakenly ended up in the kid's class."

"Yup, that's me."

"Thank you for being here for her."

"I'm happy to help."

"Are you in pain now, Kira?"

"No, they gave me some medication."

"And they're having us ice it," Cosima adds, lifting the ice pack off Kira's ankle.

The door opens and a doctor enters, "Hello, I'm Dr. Leclerc."

"Cal Morrison, Kira's father."

"I have the results of Kira's x-ray. The good news is it's just a sprain, the bad news is she will need to stay off of it until it heals."

"No, I want to keep skiing," she whines.

"I'm sorry, Kira," the doctor apologizes, "we need you to give your ankle time to heal before you can ski again. I want you to keep your ankle elevated 2 to 3 hours a day and ice it for 10 minutes every couple hours for the next three days. I'm going to prescribe something mild for the pain. We're also going to get you a pair of crutches for when you must get up. My nurse, Jacqueline, will help you learn to use them. I'd like to see you back here Thursday afternoon for a follow-up exam."

"Thank you, doctor," Cal shakes his hand. The nurse comes in and takes Kira and Cal to the medical equipment room.

Cosima takes her cell out of her pocket and places a call.

"Cosima, how is Kira?" Delphine answers frantically.

"She's alright, it's just a sprain."

"Oh, thank goodness. I wanted to get over to the clinic, but I needed to fill out an incident report. They brought in the man that caused her accident and are deliberating the proper course of action. Of course, he denies any wrongdoing. Charlotte came in to give a statement, which I think will seal his fate. What are you doing now?"

"I'm just waiting for Kira and Cal to finish up here, she's getting fitted for crutches right now, then I'll probably go back to the room and wait for you to get back from your afternoon lesson. Which, I now realize, I must be interrupting."

"No, I'm so glad you called, I've been worried. I'm relieved she didn't break anything, but losing Kira from the group—"

"I know, she's pretty upset about that."

"Please send Kira my regards and tell her I'm thinking of her and will see her soon."

"I will."

"Thank you. À tout à l'heure."

"Bye," Cosima ends the call and starts leafing through a copy of Pour La Science, the French version of Scientific American, while she waits.

Ten minutes later, Cal returns pushing Kira in a wheelchair. "We're all set to go. They said we could borrow this chair to get her back to the hotel so she doesn't have to maneuver through the snow. Do you think you could give me a hand with her crutches and medicine?"

"Totally," Cosima takes the crutches and a small bag from the nurse and follows Kira and Cal out. "I spoke to Delphine and filled her in on your prognosis. She wanted me to tell you she's thinking of you and she'll come visit you soon."

"I wish I could go back to class tomorrow," Kira frowns.

"Me too, we're gonna miss you. But you're so good, I'm sure you'll ski again real soon."

"Yeah, Kira, I'll take you skiing one weekend when we're back home. I bet you're better than me by now."

"She's been doing great," Cosima attests.

They arrive back at the hotel and enter Cal and Kira's suite. Cal places Kira on her bed just as his phone rings with an incoming FaceTime call, "It's your mom."

Cal hands Kira the phone, "Hi Mommy."

"How are you, baby? Cal told me you had a skiing accident."

"I sprained my ankle. It hurt a lot at first, but I'm feeling better now. My friend, Cosima, let me squeeze her hand when the pain got real bad."

"I'm glad you had her. I miss you you, Monkey?"

"I'm not a monkey anymore."

"You're not?"

"I'm a leopard," she points her cap towards the camera.

"Cool! I like it."

"You can talk to Daddy now," Kira hands Cal the phone.

"Wait, Kira, I love you, monk-, uh, leopard."

"Would you mind staying with her a sec while I take this in the other room?"

"Not at all," Cosima sits down beside Kira.

"Hey, Sarah, sorry, she's still pretty upset about not being able to ski," Cal says as he exits the room and closes the door behind him for privacy.

"You alright?" Cosima asks Kira.

Kira shrugs, "She acts like she cares, but she's always leaving me."

"I'm sure your mom cares about you, she sounded really worried. You know, sometimes parents get caught up in their own stuff, but that doesn't mean they don't love you."

"I guess."

"Hey," Cosima picks up some construction paper and pencils off the nightstand, "do you want to do some science?"

"Yeah!"

"Okay, we're going to do an experiment. I want you to try to push this pencil through this piece of paper."

Kira takes the pencil and tries to jam it through the paper, to no avail.

"Oops! How come that didn't work, I wonder. Cause you know what? You need more force," Cosima flexes her arm into a muscle. "Force equals mass times acceleration. How can we get the pencil through this paper do you think?"

"We need to make it sharper?"

"That's a really good idea. High five for that," Cosima holds up her hand and Kira slaps it. "What about trying speed, maybe? Acceleration? Should we give that a shot?"

Kira nods and Cosima holds up the paper. Kira then swiftly and fiercely jams the sharpened pencil into the paper.

Cosima holds the paper in front of her face and looks through the freshly punctured hole, "Nice one! You won the experiment," they high-five again. "You won science. You're a scientist now." Cosima looks at the paper and colored pencils scattered on the bed, "You want to make a picture for your mom? Maybe draw Mont Blanc and you skiing down it like the little force of nature you are?"

"Yeah," Kira nods as she grabs a pencil and gets to work.

Cal returns several minutes later, "How's it going in here?"

"Great, look what I drew for Mommy," Kira holds up her drawing.

"Wow, Kira, that's great. Who are all those people?"

"That's me," Kira points out, "Charlotte, Gemma, Oscar, Delphine, and Cosima."

"Wait, that's me?" Cosima looks closer at the picture, "What am I doing?"

"Falling," Kira responds with a giggle.

"Oh, you're a riot," Cosima tickles her.

Cal laughs at the scene as his phone buzzes with a text alert, "Ah, it's Ander, an old college buddy who's in town today for a meeting. Kira and I were supposed to meet up with him tonight for dinner before he flies out. I'll be right back, I'll just call and explain what happened and tell him we can't make it."

"Why don't you go? I can stay here with Kira until you get back."

"I can't ask you to do that."

"You didn't, I offered."

"Kira, would you mind staying here with Cosima while I see Ander?"

"No, that'll be so fun. Cosima and I can draw and read the books you got me for Christmas," Kira enthuses.

"Okay, it's settled then," Cal agrees. "Please order room service for dinner, anything you want. I really appreciate this."

"No problem," Cosima insists as Cal goes to change for dinner.

"And our dog was the first dog to make the long journey west."

"So the puppy followed the explorer that whole way?" Kira asks as Cosima closes the book.

"Mmm-hmm," Cosima nods. "Cool, huh?"

Yeah," Kira responds as there's a knock at the door.

Cosima gets up and goes into the living room, "Who is it?"

"Delphine."

"Hey," Cosima says as she opens the door and gives Delphine a hug.

"How's Kira?"

"She doing well, we were just reading some books, and I'm about to order us dinner."

"Hi Delphine," Kira calls from the other room.

Delphine heads her way, "Hi, Kira, how are you feeling?"

"Better! Cosima is so much fun, she read me stories and did the voices and everything."

"Oh did she? She never reads to me."

"Maybe when you sprain your ankle I will."

"Or maybe I won't and you'll read to me anyway."

"Maybe I will. So how did the rest of the lesson go?"

"We took it easy, everyone was pretty shook up about Kira's accident. Oh, by the way, Gemma asked me to give you this," Delphine pulls a chocolate bar out of her pocket and hands it to Kira.

"That kid never ceases to amaze me."

"It was really nice of her."

As Kira is about to unwrap the candy bar, Cosima stops her, "Hey, you can have that after we eat dinner."

"Okay," Kira puts it down. "Delphine, wanna have dinner with us?"

"I don't know, I don't want to intrude."

"You're not intruding," Kira swears. "And if Cosima is here, you'd be all alone for dinner anyway. Stay! Right, Cosima?"

"You heard her," Cosima shrugs, "you have to stay."

"Okay, then," Delphine takes off her coat, "what's for dinner?"

After they each enjoy a juicy burger and pommes frites, Cosima and Delphine tuck Kira in bed and lay down on either side of her as she enjoys her chocolate bar.

Delphine notices a drawing on the side table and picks it up, "Is this our ski group?"

Kira nods, "Do you like it?

"I love it. And is this Cosima?"

"Here we go," Cosima groans.

"Yeah."

"That is an uncanny likeness in every way," Delphine smiles. "You've really captured her essence here."

"Okay, haha, you've had your fun. What do you want to read now, Kira?" Cosima asks.

"That one," Kira points to the bedside table next to Cosima.

"Whoa. The Island of Dr. Moreau," Cosima exclaims as she picks up the book.

"It's about a man who makes monsters."

"I know, I love this book," Cosima smiles.

"It's special," Kira declares.

Cosima flips through it in awe, "Where did you get this?"

"My daddy got it for me."

"This is a first edition," Cosima gapes. "It's very rare. Make sure you hold onto this for a long time."

"I will," Kira promises.

"Read it to us," Delphine implores.

"Us?" Cosima repeats.

"Yes, us. Kira and I. I want to hear the literary stylings of Miss Cosima Niehaus."

"Yeah, read to us, Cosima," Kira agrees. "In funny voices."

"Ok," Cosima settles against the pillow and flips to the first page and clears her throat. "Chapter the first, In The Dingey of the Lady Vain. I do not propose to add anything to what has already been written about the loss of the Lady Vain. As everyone knows, she collided with a derelict when ten days out from Callao…" Delphine and Kira listen with rapt attention as Cosima begins the tale.

"Chapter the sixth, The Evil-Looking Boatmen. But the islanders, seeing I was really adrift, took pity on me. I drifted very slowly to the eastward—"

"Cosima," Delphine whispers.

Cosima looks from the book to Delphine who's eyes turn down towards a fast asleep Kira.

"That exciting, huh?" Cosima muses.

"It was very exciting," Delphine assures.

"Want me to continue reading until you fall asleep, too?"

"Non," Delphine shakes her head, "but I appreciate the offer."

Cosima grabs a bookmark off the end table and saves the page before placing the book back from where she had taken it.

"You were really great with her today."

"She's a good kid."

"And you're very good with the children. Letting her squeeze your hand, that was a wonderful gesture."

"I just hated to see her in so much pain."

"You have a real way with kids."

"I guess I just kinda relate to them on their level, don't talk down to them, but don't act superior, either. You do that, too, in your teaching. You never act like you're babying them or making anything too easy, you instruct them like you believe they are all extremely capable skiers."

"That's because they are."

"Even me?"

"Especially you," Delphine declares before looking down again at Kira. "I feel horrible about this. She shouldn't have gotten hurt like that. I should have looked out for her more—"

"Hey, it's not your fault. It's that jerkwad's fault for cutting her off. And she's going to be fine, it's just a sprain."

"I know, it's just, their parents trust me to watch after their children."

"And parents understand that things happen that we can't control."

Delphine nods, "At least that man has been stripped of his lift pass."

"Oh, that's good news. I swear, if I saw him, I'd kick him in the nuts."

"Cosima!"

"What? It's the truth."

"I suppose I'd like to do the same," Delphine laughs.

"We'll tag-team the s.o.b. Double nutter, whack, bam. Moron won't be able to stand for a week, let alone snowboard."

Delphine shakes her head, "You're too much."

"Too much or just enough?"

"Just enough," Delphine decides. "Seriously, you're going to be a great mom one day."

"Delphine," Cosima gasps, "are you going to try and knock me up?"

"Perhaps," Delphine smiles as she moves her head towards Cosima, who does the same, their lips meeting in a tender kiss.

The beep beep of the door interrupts their liplock as the hotel room door swings open.

"I'm back," Cal announces as he opens the door the the bedroom. "Oh, Delphine, nice to see you."

"You too, Cal. I'm so sorry about Kira's accident." Delphine and Cosima get up and follow Cal into the living room.

"Yeah, me too. We can't keep them in a protective bubble forever, though, can we? You don't want to know how many bones I broke as a kid, at least Kira's isn't that serious."

"Yes, I'm thankful for that, as well."

"So what are you doing here?"

"Um, well, I hope you don't mind, but I stopped by to see how Kira was doing and she asked me to stay for dinner."

"No, not at all. I'm glad she had such great company. She really speaks highly of the both of you."

"She does?" Delphine asks.

"Yeah, she always tells me how much fun she had at her lesson, how great you are, how funny Cosima is, and how you two are a cute couple."

"Excuse me?" Delphine asks and Cosima can't help the little chuckle that bursts forth.

"I mean, you are a couple, right?"

"Yes, but, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have made the kids aware."

"Why not? It's good for the kids to see happy relationships. Let me tell you, Kira's mom, Sarah, and I, we've had our ups and downs, and I know it's taken it's toll on Kira. Her mom has a, let's just say, unusual family situation and she's always running all over the place trying to help everyone. It put a strain on our relationship, and I know it's been tough on Kira, so here we are on a daddy/daughter vacation. But, like I was saying, it's great that you have each other and are happy, so don't feel you need to hide anything, not from me or the kids."

"Thank you, Cal."

"Yeah, thanks," Cosima agrees.

"Hey, I should be the one thanking the both of you for taking such good care of Kira. She never falls asleep this early with me."

"We're happy to be of service," Cosima declares. "Just so you know, we finished A Dog Came, Too and are on Chapter 6 of The Island of Dr. Moreau."

"That's great, thanks."

"It was my pleasure. Goodnight, tell Kira I'll come by to check on her tomorrow."

"Thank you, goodnight."

"Bonne nuit," Delphine says as they leave the room.

"That was nice of him, huh?" Cosima says as they walk down the hall.

"Yes, very. But I cannot believe the kids are telling their parents about us."

Cosima shrugs, "They're just as excited about us as we are."

"I'm always excited about you," Delphine insists.

"Oh yeah, how excited are you right now?"

"Let's go back to our room and I'll show you."

"Kira has sprained her ankle and won't be able to ski with us," Delphine announces to the group on Tuesday morning.

"No way!" Gemma shouts.

"That's not fair," Oscar echoes, "she should be here."

"Maybe we can visit her later," Charlotte suggests.

"That would be very nice," Delphine smiles, "I'm sure she'd like that."

"Oh no, I won't have a ski buddy now," Charlotte laments.

"Yes, you will," Cosima quickly states.

"I will? But Kira's hurt—"

"I'll be your buddy. I mean, I know I'm not as awesome as Kira, but I can try."

"What about Delphine?" Charlotte worries. "I don't want to take you away from her, she'll be devastated."

"Delphine will be fine," Cosima swears. "Won't you, Delphine?"

"Yes, while I, of course, am saddened to no longer be paired with Cosima, I am very happy that she'll have you looking out for her, Charlotte."

"Are you sure? I don't want to break you two up."

"You're not breaking us up, Delphine will just have to be my nighttime buddy." Delphine starts coughing. "You know, for dates and stuff," Cosima clarifies.

"Okay, thank you so much, Cosima," Charlotte gives her a hug before heading to get in line at the lift.

"What did I say? You're a natural with children."

"Yeah, yeah," Cosima brushes off the compliment. "I will miss being your buddy, though."

"Don't worry, I've still got my eye on you out here," Delphine winks.

"Cosima, come on," Charlotte waves her over from her place in line for the ski lift.

"My little buddy is calling, see you up there." As Cosima turns to catch up to Charlotte, Delphine grabs her hand and pulls her in for a quick peck. "Look who's breaking their own rules," Cosima smirks.

"Nobody is looking," Delphine assures. "And you are just too sweet to resist."

"I'm going to remind you of that later," Cosima states as she turns to go join Charlotte in line.

As they take their seats on the lift and pull down the bar, Charlotte turns to Cosima, "You two are so adorable."

"Hmm?"

"You and Delphine. I saw her kiss you."

"You did?"

Charlotte smiles and nods.

"Don't let Delphine know, she gets a little shy about that."

"I won't," Charlotte assures. "How do you know when you like someone like that?"

"Oh, I don't know, it just kinda happens, I guess."

"When did you know you liked Delphine?"

"Honestly, from the moment I laid eyes on her. And then when she talked to me and helped me that first day on the slopes, I just had these butterflies."

"Butterflies?"

"Yeah, it's this feeling you get in your stomach when you're around someone you really, really like. Kind of like a fluttering. It's hard to explain, but when you feel it, you know. Why are you asking all this, anyway? Is there someone you like?"

"No way, I'm only eight."

"Sorry, my bad, you're right, I don't know what I was thinking."

"I just wanted to know so I can recognize the signs when I'm your age."

Cosima laughs, "It's always good to plan ahead, I suppose." They reach the top of the slope and Cosima raises the bar, "Come on, kiddo, let's show them how sharp our carving skills are."

After dinner, Cosima and Delphine sit across from one another in the tub, candles lit all around the bathroom, their legs stretched out and slotted beside the other, their bodies immersed in bubble filled water, and a glass of red wine in their hands.

"I think you fell less with Charlotte as your buddy today."

"Yeah, well, I figured it would be harder for a kid to help me up. And she doesn't fluster me like you do."

"Oh I fluster you, do I?"

"Kinda. I just always wanna impress you, so I guess I push myself harder."

"You do impress me, everyday, in so many ways. And look how far you've come from that first day. You could barely stay on your skis and now you're on them far more than on your tush."

"I guess my butt has been kissing the ground a lot less lately. And I kinda got the hang of that carving thing today."

"You did great."

"Thanks," Cosima blushes. "That was sweet of the kids to bring a picnic lunch to Kira's room today."

"Oh, she was so happy to see them, it warmed my heart."

"It's great they've become such good friends."

"Mm-hmm," Delphine agrees. "This is definitely the closest group I've had here."

"That's cool, must be my influence."

"Yeah, must be," Delphine chortles.

They fall into a comfortable silence for a moment as they sip their wine.

"Will you be my date tomorrow night?" Delphine suddenly blurts.

Cosima looks at her with confusion, "Aren't I your date every night?"

"Yes, but this is a little different."

"How so?"

"It's with Luc, Danielle, and my parents."

"Like a triple date?"

"I suppose. Tomorrow is my parents' 32nd wedding anniversary. Luc and I take them out to celebrate every year. Initially, it was just the four of us, then Danielle began joining us, and now I was hoping you'd come. I'll understand if you don't want to, it's just, Luc asked if it will be 5 or 6 for dinner and I instinctively said 6, but I realize I should have asked you first and—"

"I'd love to go."

"You would?"

"Of course. I feel honored that you'd want to include me in such a special night. As long as you don't think your parents will mind."

"No, not at all, they adore you, and, like I said, they want me to be happy and happiness would mean having you beside me."

Cosima grins, "Then it's settled, dinner with the parents tomorrow night."

"You're the best. Come here," Delphine beckons as she puts her glass down and scoots towards Cosima. Cosima follows suit, meeting Delphine half-way. They wrap their legs around one another's bodies as Delphine tenderly, but firmly, grasps Cosima's head and brings their mouths together in a fervid kiss.

"Whoo!" Delphine suddenly yelps.

"Sorry, my hand slipped," Cosima faux-apologizes as she leaves her hand right where it "accidentally" landed on Delphine's rear end.

"Oh, well, whoopsy, so did mine," Delphine mimics as her hand finds purchase on the inside of Cosima's thigh.

"Guess we both have slippery hands," Cosima shrugs as she resumes kissing Delphine.

By the time they're done with their bath, more water is on the floor than in the tub.