Chapter 5--The latest installment of this cross-FF story is up. I hope you enjoy it and thanks for the comment!

C.J. sat and listened to Shelli talk about how important it was to use just the right exfoliate to rid yourself of the dead skin and allow the newer layer to shine through. She had invited the group of women sitting at a table at the Brick mixing and matching ingredients to make facial masks. C.J. hadn't been sure she wanted to come but had decided to show up rather than face another night by herself in her cabin.

Shelli had welcomed her enthusiastically and they had put out some refreshments as the other women began to arrive, talking excitedly.

"So you and Ed have been jamming on that film he's working on for Maurice," she asked.

C.J. nodded.

"It's been a lot of fun and it's going really well," she said, "We've just got a few more interviews to do and then he'll start editing it."

"I heard you were going to work with Maurice," Shelli continued, dipping into the veggie mix.

C.J. shook her head.

"I think he's more interested in a personal relationship of some sort than a professional one," she said.

Shelli shrugged.

"That's Maurice for sure," she said, "but just because you're pregnant doesn't mean you have to be chick who's flying solo. I mean you could do worse than Maurice and I know from experience."

"I know," C.J. said, "but I still really miss him and I'm not ready for anyone else. I don't know if I'll ever be."

Shelli shrugged.

"That's cool," she said, "If anything happened to Holliings, I don't know I'd handle it without wigging out but everyone in his family lived to be over 100 so he's got a long way to go."

"That's great," C.J. said, "Then your baby will know his or her father."

"Yeah…," Shelli said, "He must have been a great guy."

"He was."

Josh walked by the Brick, as small snowflakes floated down through the chilled air. He put his hands in his pockets and focused on getting back to his warm hotel room next to the bar. As he passed by the windows, he heard some laughter that sounded like it came from women. Peeking inside the window, he saw the women sitting at tables and mixing together ingredients into bowls and talking among themselves. He almost started walking again and then he saw her.

Sitting next to Shelli the waitress he had met earlier that day, was a young woman with dark mahogany hair over her shoulders and wearing a knit sweater. She was smiling at something the other woman said, while pulling apart pieces of a dried plant. She didn't sense his presence by the window but kept on mixing items in her bowl as another woman came to sit down beside her.

His heart quickened as his eyes took in her beauty and he felt himself missing her more than the time that he had been gone. He remembered the last time he had seen her, flashing the same smile as he walked away from her. His heart had been light even as danger had swirled around them because she had spent the better part of the night showing him how much she loved him. She hadn't said the words to him but he had known what was in her heart.

He sighed as he remembered that he hadn't told her how much she and that night had meant to him. The softness of her skin beneath his fingers and her breath against his neck. The woman got up from the table and walked closer to the window. He noticed that underneath her smile, she looked tired and that as she made herself tea at the refreshment table, he saw a hint of sadness on her face. That filled him with regret because that was the last emotion he ever wanted her to remember him by.

C.J. got off of the table. Joel closed her chart.

"It looks like everything's proceeding just fine on the gestational front," he said, "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good," she said, "Just a little tired."

"Nausea?"

She shook her head.

"It's mostly gone."

"That's good," Joel said, "I might schedule for an ultrasound soon so we can see how things are going."

C.J. looked up.

"Really," she asked, suddenly feeling excitement fill, "That would be great."

Joel nodded.

"It will give you a chance to see your baby," he said, "Of course, it's still early in the pregnancy."

"That's fine," she said, "I want to see him or her."

"Okay, I'll set it up," he said, leaving the examination room.

C.J. watched him go, smiling as she put her hands on her abdomen. Her clothes still fit but were beginning to feel tight. She would have to go shopping and she didn't know where in this tiny town to find maternity clothes.

"You can buy clothes from a store down the street," a woman said.

She looked up and saw Marilyn carry some items into the examination room.

"Thanks," C.J. said, "I'll need to do that soon."

She left the clinic and walked to where she would be meeting Ed.

Josh got an early start in the morning to head out to check out some property with Maurice. He ate an early breakfast at the Brick with Maggie who had some repairs to do on Joel's cabin that day. She asked him how he liked his accommodations and he said they suited him just fine.

"That's good," she said, nodding, "My mother stayed there for a couple of days…after burning my house down."

He looked at her puzzled at her comments about her volatile family relationships. He hadn't experienced that in his own life having never known his mother who died when he was very young but having shared a very close relationship with his father before he passed on several years ago.

"And it's handy to have a place to crash after one of the Brick's parties," she continued, eating her omelet.

"I don't go to many parties these days," he said.

She looked at him, seeing the guarded look on his face beneath his handsome features.

"You too busy traveling?"

"Something like that," he said.

She sipped her juice.

"There's going to be a party there tonight," Maggie said, "It's Dave's birthday and Hollings is throwing him a little bash."

"You extending an invitation?"

She winked at him.

"If you're interested," she said, "And after spending a day out with Maurice, it'll be good for you to relax."

He smiled as he drove towards the property. Maggie was a nice enough woman and very pretty but all she did was remind him of someone else.

C.J. listened to Ed talking about Dave the cook's birthday party which would be held at the Brick that night. She found going home by herself to her cabin at night to be depressing so she nodded her head at Ed's invitation and said she'd be there. At least for a little while.

The people in Cicely had been so nice to her since she had arrived and she enjoyed spending time with them.

"It will be a great party," Ed said, "Hollings always throws great parties."

C.J. looked out the window at the snow falling down.

"It looks like it's going to be coming down," she said.

Ed nodded.

"It's that time of year," he said.

"It's kind of pretty," C.J. said, "how it sits on the trees."

Josh met Maurice and toured the property but didn't want to act too impressed with it. Maurice didn't seem too taken aback by his nonchalance. Joel walked by, pulling his parka closer around him.

"Maurice, prescription is in today if you want to pick it up," he said.

The former astronaut looked distracted.

"I'll pick it up later," he said, "Can't you see I'm trying to conduct a business transaction here?"

Joel looked around and watched Josh walk around the parcel.

"I can see that Maurice," he said, "So do you have a buyer for this land?"

"I hope so," Maurice said, "This guy's loaded with money or he's working for someone who is."

"So you're going to put in a shopping mall or an entertainment complex," Joel asked.

Maurice threw Joel a pitying look.

"Son, I've got greater vision than that," he said.

Josh walked up to them.

"It's a pretty nice parcel," he said, "but I'm going to have to think about it. Call the boss up and see what he thinks."

Maurice nodded.

"Fair enough," he said, "Just don't take too long. There's a couple other prospective buyers but since I like your style, I'll give you the first offer."

"That's mighty generous of you," Josh said, "I'll get back to you."

"So you going to the Brick tonight to Dave's party," Joel asked.

Josh nodded.

"Maggie invited me," he said, "She's a nice woman."

Joel's face lit up.

"Wait a minute, she invited…Maggie invited you?"

Josh picked up something in his voice that told him Joel carried more for the young pilot than he claimed.

"Yes she did," he said, "But I think she was just being friendly and sociable."

Joel chuckled derisively.

"Two words not always associated with Maggie O'Connell," he said.

Maurice looked at the both of them.

"Listen are you both interested in Maggie?"

Josh and Joel looked back at him.

C.J. worked with Shelli in the kitchen.

"Blue and gold color scheme would be awesome for Dave's party," she said.

"Where's Dave anyway?"

"Oh some of the guys took him ice fishing," Shelli said.

C.J. put some plates on one of the tables set up in the bar.

"He's going to be surprised," she said.

Shelli smiled.

"Oh not much fazes Dave," she said, "But he'll be happy about the party."

C.J. watched Shelli bring out some glasses.

"Maggie's new friend might be coming tonight," Shelli said.

"Who's that?"

"The guy who flew in with her yesterday," Shelli said.

"Oh yeah, I haven't met him," C.J. said.

'He's really hot," Shelli said, "Not that I'm going after him or anything. It's been a while since Maggie's even looked at a guy since Rick bought it after the satellite hit him."

"I know how that feels," C.J. said.

"Well anyway, I think it would be good for her to have a new guy in her life," Shelli said, "She's been a bit out of sorts lately and a chick who's going to be looking at the big 3-0 soon needs to have someone to hang onto for the ride."

"You only have one life," C.J. said, "You should do what makes you happy because you never know when it can all be taken away from you."

Shelli nodded solemnly.

"Aint that the truth," she said.

Josh and Joel walked around the parcel of land while Maurice made a phone call.

"Are you serious about Maggie," Joel asked, "Not that I really care about it one way or the other because I don't, she's been the bane of my existence in this polar ice cap prison since…"

Josh interrupted him.

"Look, is there a point to this," he asked, "because it sounds like she's your girl."

Joel's face paled.

"No way, is she my girlfriend," he said, "I mean Maggie has her moments when she's almost human but I've…we've learned that it's just better if we keep each other at a distance."

"She's very attractive," Josh said, "If you're interested, I wouldn't let her too far out of your sight."

Joel's eyes narrowed.

"Are you going to make a play for her," he said, "because I might as well tell you, you'd have better luck with an iceberg."

Josh shook his head.

"Maggie's a very nice woman but I'm not interested," he said, "I'm just passing through but I think that you're selling her way too short."

Joel grew flustered.

"Well it just happens that I know Maggie O'Connell just a bit better than you do," he insisted, "I know of which I speak."

Josh stopped and looked at him.

"Do you even like women Joel?"

Joel started to protest but then he stopped and thought about it a minute.

"Of course I do," he said, "I just don't understand them most of the time."

Josh shrugged.

"Maybe that's because you don't listen to them very well," he said.

At that, Joel turned on him.

"And what makes you the expert on the female gender," he said, "You waltz into town and then you start lecturing me on how to relate to women?"

Josh sighed.

"I'm someone who's made more than my share of mistakes with them," he said, "including some really big ones lately but the world wouldn't be as exciting without them."

Joel calmed down a little at the gravity in the other man's voice.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I was engaged when I came here and then she dumped me for some judge old enough to collect social security."

"I've been engaged a few times myself," Josh said, "It never worked out."

"But you're going to Dave's party with Maggie," Joel said, "So you obviously have gotten over your setbacks."

Josh just looked at him a moment.

"I'm going with her because it beats sitting and staring at the four walls of a hotel room," he said, "and it was nice of her to offer."

Dave's party went off without a hitch. The men had brought him back from ice fishing and he had been duly surprised and delighted to see a crowd of Cicely's residents cheer his arrival at the Brick and sing him happy birthday. Soon the drinks were flowing and the food that had been laid out on tables wound up filling people's plates and their stomachs. C.J spent most of her time in the kitchen helping Hollings and Shelli finish up the final touches on the birthday cake that had been custom made for the cook right under his nose. She put some frosting on the rim of the cake and thought it didn't look half bad.

Shelli buzzed in with a smile on her face.

"Isn't it awesome to see such a great party going on," she said, "We kicked some serious ass on this one."

C.J. felt that Shelli's enthusiasm was contagious and she felt her mood lift.

"Why don't you come out and join in," Shelli asked, "I'll take over here. The cake looks bitchin'."

"Thanks," C.J. said, then took off her apron, "I think I'll do that."

She left Shelli and walked into the Brick which was wall to wall people and filled with the sounds of music playing off an old juke box. Ed walked up to her after going to the refreshment tables for seconds.

"This is a great party," Ed said.

C.J. nodded.

"It's really nice," she agreed, "I think Dave's having a lot of fun."

"Dave loves parties," Ed said, "He can throw a really great one too."

C.J. looked around.

"I don't see Maggie," she said, "Isn't she coming?"

Ed nodded.

"She's waiting for her friend outside," he said, "so they can make an entrance."

C.J. narrowed her eyes.

"But it's freezing outside," she said.

"Maggie doesn't mind the cold," he said, simply.

C.J. saw Shelli signaling her from just outside the kitchen and knew it was time to bring out the cake. She went into the kitchen to help Shelli carry it out to the bar.