Disclaimer: I don't own Human Target and intend no copyright infringement.

A/N: I really hate to have to announce this, but till July 23rd I will be on a business trip. My internet time will be sparse and I will have to reserve it for somehow continuing my usual job somewhere in between the additional challenges of the trip. No time for fanfiction, I'm afraid. This story is not over yet, there are seven more chapters to come. I wanted to finish it before my departure, but it just didn't work out, I'm sorry. Without niagaraweasel's indispensable help I probably wouldn't even have managed getting tropical island done. Thank you, dear friend! I hope to see you all again on July 23rd. You have no idea what your continuous support, even if it's just silent readership, means to me. Thank you all, very, very much.

TTFN,

Ced

"Twist lifts look like throw jumps but aren't throw jumps. You lift me in the air and then throw me. I rotate and twist before you catch me on the waist and help me landing."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Violently shaking his head, Ash skated backwards away from Christina and obviously just as insane Ms. Matsumoto. How the hell a supposed-to-be responsible adult could even suggest something as insane as this totally beat him. But apparently winning was more important to her than her protégés' physical well-being.

How come that better-dead-than-second-place attitude had never bothered him while playing ice-hockey?

He hated to admit it, but part of the difference had to do with the protective gear – as an ice-hockey player, about 30 pounds of pads, gloves and guards are between you and the ice. In figure skating, there's nothing.

Ice-hockey is for boys, figure skating is for men. With the prospect of somehow having to throw Christina up in the air and making sure she'd make it back to earth safely for both of them, that sentence had never sounded truer.

"Nobody expects a young pair to do a lateral overhead twist. This would blow the judges off their feet!" Trust Ms. Matsumoto to feed Christina's zeal.

"It's not that I'm asking you for a quad twist or anything…" Christina skated towards him, not letting him off the hook. "Big bad ice-hockey player that you are, how can you be such a chicken?"

… … …

"Judging from the look on your face a crocodile just emerged behind my back", Ames told Chance.

"There are some in Venezuela, but the population in Cuba is much bigger", he replied absentmindedly, eyes trained on her face.

"Then it must be me that's so horrifying that you haven't come a step closer since we got here. Open your eyes, Chance! It doesn't get any more beautiful!" Behind her the waterfall was splashing lazily downwards into the aquamarine pool. The slowly setting sun was turning the water's surface and Ames' wet skin golden.

"You're not horrifying", Chance replied. Then he added, barely audible: "But I'm afraid, yes."

"Heed your own philosophy and forget tomorrow, Chance. Tonight we're both alive and here. Just the two of us." She swam towards him and hoisted herself out of the pool.

Maybe it was an automatic reaction, but he bent down and helped her up.

Ames had never been one to miss an opportunity. She grabbed Chance's shirt and pulled him into a deep kiss.

… … …

Ash had the sneaking suspicion the only option for him to make it out of this situation without having to attempt this insane stunt (and subsequently landing Christina in hospital because he sure as hell would drop her) would be to turn tail and RUN.

He was seriously trying to estimate how much the skates would slow him down when an all too familiar voice was speaking up from somewhere in the stands.

"Don't you see he's afraid?"

Helen. As if things weren't bad enough already.

"And rightfully so. What you're proposing is idiotic. For months you keep telling him what an untalented klutz he is and now you want him to perform a maneuver you would have never asked of Andrew?"

Ash almost lost his balance. Was his hearing somehow deceiving him? Or his eyesight? But it really was Helen, now slowly approaching from the furthest block of seats. She must have been watching for a while. Her limping seemed worse than usual.

"Or maybe he is not a bad figure skater at all but actually very talented", she continued as she hobbled closer. "And he has made amazing progress, especially lately." Helen's strict gaze rested on her friend, for a change.

To Ash's utter surprise, Christina blushed.

Ms. Matsumoto of course remained silent, but she didn't answer Helen back either.

Silence stretched between them, but for a change Ash didn't feel uncomfortable in it. Christina, on the other hand, visibly started getting fidgety under her friend's unrelenting stare. Finally she turned towards Ash:

"You've got a ton of talent. You're even better than Andrew. You can do this."

Ms. Matsumoto nodded in agreement. "She is right. With everything."

Ash took a deep breath.

… … …

Ames broke the kiss. "Come on, Chance", she breathed into his ear.

"This has to be a one-time-only thing", he whispered, voice barely audible.

"I'm not planning to go through another airplane crash with you." She planted a gentle kiss on his forehead, then slipped away from him again, back into the water.

"That's not what I was talking about", Chance sighed.

"I know!" Treading water, she came to a halt in the middle of the pool.

Chance took a deep breath.

… … …

Ash and Christina both skated backwards. The times he had had to worry about falling over his toepicks were long gone. They were moving in perfect unison. On Ms. Matsumoto's command Ash lifted Christina over his head, using their momentum both for the initial pull upward and then the all decisive toss into the air. Christina turned, turned… two rotations! Ash straightened… he caught her by the waist.

Oh, good Lord. The second his fingers grasped the fabric of her shirt he knew they'd indeed blow the judges off their feet with this. This was amazing! He had her back under control again, they were still completely in cadence, their balance was perfect…. In one smooth motion he put her back onto the ice and she landed the maneuver on a back outside edge.

The rush of endorphin surging through his body almost made him shiver. Damn it, this had to be the best thing he had ever done!

… … …

Shedding the last piece of his clothes, Chance stepped into the water.