truly going to try not to sleep all weekend. but yeah... I want to write some other stories. That is why this one even though it is farter than all other stories. is going slower than the last version. I hope you enjo this drama filled chapter. I know a Python in the middle of the California wine country? really? Well maybe it is someone's pet that escaped. Either way, this is the very first thing we are going to deal with in this chapter. Enjoy! ~S.K.

Six

"Now what?" Jose turned and put his hands on his hips. He was wearing a pair of coach's shorts and a polo shirt with the name "Marelito Bowling League" on it, with black socks and sneakers. "We go back, si?"

"Hell yes… " Steve agreed. "That's it…no way, no how am I messing around with a god damned snake."

Elle was seated on a nearby log, fanning herself, and the rest of them were peering at the snake uncomfortably. They turned to look at Jade when she edged closer. "To hell with them." Jose decided. "We don't have to put up with this."

The dark haired executive put a hand on either rope, and her hiking boots on the very edge of the bridge. "Well… hold on." She murmured, taking a step forward and letting the rope take her weight. When she didn't see the snake move a muscle at the movement of the rope, she took a tentative step on to the bridge.

"Jade… Tori's voice objected instinctively.

"Hey.. crazy woman... get the hell back here!" Jose yelped.

"Ah... my friend? " Rob went to the edge of the bridge. "You don't need to go over there."

"Shit..." Sinjin cursed.

"Shh," Jade turned her head and glared at them. "Just…let me check the situation out, all right? "

"You're going to end up with your ass in that creek, and I'm going to laugh my head off." Steve sniped.

Jade ignored him, and continued slowly moving forward, holding the two ropes on either side of her as she approached the snake, and feeling the rope bridge sway under her movement, and the wind. The creek chuckled by below her, and she could hear the ominous creaking of the hemp fibers, which seemed impossibly loud to her.

A bird called out overhead, almost making her jump, and she glared up at it, before she continued forward a few more steps. She was almost to where the snake was now, and she could feel her heart starting to pound, and her knees shook under the strain of keeping level. "Nice snakey." She murmured. "Easy now... "

Snakes were deaf. She knew that. But it made her feel better to say it anyway. Ten feet away, and she could see the soft, glistening surface of the animal as it rested contentedly in the sun, it's large, square head spread out on the top rope.

Jade took another step forward, then held on as a breeze made the entire bridge sway, causing the snake to shift a little. Jade ducked her head forward, then took two more steps which brought her even with the large creature's head.

She reached out, hearing a collective gasp from the other shore, and picked the head up, examining it curiously. With an utterly cool expression, she turned her head, and regarded her co-workers.

They stared at her in awe.

"Made in China." Jade held the head up. "It's rubber."

A moment of shock, then everyone started moving again. "Son of a bitch!" Sinjin breathed, shaking his head. "These people are nuts!"

Jade set the rubber head back down, and patted the snake, then she regarded the rest of the bridge. "I'm going on across…it's not that hard, just take it slow, and hold on." She advised the group, as she continued on her way, placing her feet carefully one after the other until she reached the other side and hopped down. There was a small machine that looked like a timecard stamper there, and she pulled out her little card, and stuck it in.

It made a very satisfying clunking noise, and stamped a tiny cobra on her card in the number one slot. She put the card away, and glanced back across the creek, not surprised to see Tori making her way across the bridge, a determined look of concentration on the smaller woman's face. Steve was standing impatiently on the edge, waiting his turn. Everyone else was trying to convince Elle to give it a go, and Jade was exceedingly glad she was on this side of the bridge and not the other.

Part of her felt quite satisfied, having removed an obstacle from the group's path, but the other part was still annoyed that they were doing this at all. She watched Tori stop at the snake and look at it, examining the head thoughtfully before she edged past, gripping the ropes tightly on either side.

The brunette woman looked a little uneasy, Jade thought, and she put her own hands casually on the guide ropes as Tori paused, taking a deep breath, then swallowing, before she continued on. The wind came through, swaying the bridge and Jade saw her lover's face tense up and her knuckles whiten on the ropes. "You okay?" She called out, a little concerned.

Tori waited for the swaying to stop then she risked prying her eyes open, to see Jade's blue ones fastened on her. C'mon, Tori… if she can face down a huge man eating snake, you can get past this. She forced a foot forward, keeping her gaze fixed on Jade instead of looking down. Six steps, seven, and she was close enough to see the faint wrinkle in the dark haired woman's forehead. Then she was stepping on the last bit, where a wooden plank anchored the bridge, and Jade's hands were on her waist lifting her down.

"Thanks." She closed her eyes and appreciated the solid ground under her feet. "I'm not really thrilled about heights." Tori explained, apologetically. "That climbing wall is okay, because it's so close to the ground, and all.. but that.. " She shook her head and pushed a faintly shaking hand through her hair. "Whoo… haven't' had a reaction like that in a while."

It took all of Jade's willpower not to hug her, even with everyone over there watching them. Instead, she put a hand on Tori's shoulder and patted it. "Take it easy… why don't you sit down on that bench over there? You're kind of pale."

"In a minute." The brunette woman stated, tugging her card out of her pack with grim determination. "I want my stamp." She watched the machine impact the heavy cardboard. "Jade, that was amazing… everyone thought you'd lost your mind." She looked up at her boss. "Cat was freaking out."

A shrug. "Nah… it's cold out." She held up a hand in the cool breeze. "A Snake would be sleepy… they're cold blooded." She reminded her lover. "I just wanted to see if it was sleepy enough for us to squeeze by. I didn't expect it to be fake." She glanced back to where Steve was clamoring rapidly across. "It was pretty cool though, huh?" A rakish grin edged her face.

Tori laughed gently. "Yeah." She walked over and sat down on the bench, willing her legs to stop shaking and merely watched as Steve brushed by Jade without a word and stalked to the stamper, then wandered off down the path a little. Rob was headed across next, and she could see that Cat had convinced Elle to cross ahead of her. She wondered briefly what argument the Personnel chief had used, then she contented herself with just watching Jade, who was standing by the exit to the bridge, one hand resting on the rope.

Oh, boy.. had that ever rocked. She grinned to herself. The guys had gotten their macho egos kicked right in the balls with that one… she'd been so proud of Jade she could hardly stop herself from cheering as the fearless woman made her way boldly towards the ominously coiled snake. She watched Rob get across, exchanging a few words with Jade and giving her a light slap on the side, which got him a modest shrug and a chuckle. Jade was pleased with herself though, Tori could tell, and she grinned at her as they both walked back to where Tori was sitting.

"Well... well. " Rob took a seat next to her after getting his card stamped. "That was the first, I wonder what the rest will be like?"

Jade put a boot up on the edge of the bench and leaned against her knee. "They can't get too bad… I mean, after all, this isn't a military course, they have to gear it for us soft, lazy executives." She commented. "So I doubt we'll be facing staked pits or anything like that."

"That's true enough." Rob allowed, peeking past Jade and observing as Elle squeaked across, with Sinjin going just in front of her coaxing, and Cat bringing up the rear. The ropes creaked at the triple weight, but seemed to be holding all right. "I still haven't forgiven you for causing me to be woken up like that this morning, Jade… that was not a nice thing to do to a poor, inoffensive sleeping man."

"Wasn't my fault." The dark haired woman responded. "You guys looked pretty damn funny standing there in your boxers, though, I'll give you that."

"Mm… I am going to pretend you didn't say that, just to preserve my tattered dignity." Rob replied. "And, by the way, Mr. I have a Hoover stuck up my rear over there, suspects that you and Tori are more than friends." He warned softly. "He was making some very crude, but completely in character comments after he finally scraped all the goop off himself this morning."

Jade and Tori exchanged glances. "That's been said before." Jade shrugged. "Most everyone's over that, I think."

"True.. true.. but disappearing from the group on the walk was probably not a good idea." Rob remarked, as the three travelers reached their side of the creek. "And Tori, my young friend, do not take any offense, but your eyes give you quite a bit away." He gave Tori a wry grin, as the brunette woman crossed her arms and glanced at the dirt trail. "It's quite becoming, but you would do as well to watch the birdies or something else, hmm?"

Tori sighed. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize." Jade said, suddenly, as the other three came up. "To hell with them.. let them think whatever the hell they want." She shook herself, then she walked back to the bridge and leaned on the railing, staring intently at the water below.

Tori gave Rob a wry look, then she glanced up at the newcomers. "Hey.. that was fun, right?"

"Disgusting." Elle was carefully wiping off her hands, muddy from the rope. "Just disgusting." She stole a glance at the brooding Jade, and then turned her attention back to them. "I can't believe they expected us to go past that horrible thing…you can be sure I'm lodging an official complaint as soon as we get back to San Francisco."

"That was pretty wild." Sinjin agreed, dusting his hands off. "Good thing we had Jade along…man, she'd give Tarzan a run for the money for guts, you gotta say that." He walked over and got a drink of water from the coral fountain that had been tucked into an alcove, and got his card stamped. "This is kinda cool, though."

Elle snorted. "I didn't think you'd enjoy anything that didn't have a computer attached to it." She sniped. "What's your hobby, by the way, internet surfing?"

"No.. that's my job." Sinjin laughed. "My hobby's restoring bikes… that one I came in on is my favorite."

Tori smiled at him ."Can I get a ride later?" She inquired teasingly "I always wanted to say I'd gotten to ride on a Hog."

He grinned back. "Absolfriggenlutely." He agreed "So long as someone takes a pic for me… or nobody'd believe it."

Everyone else made it across with no further incident, and they moved up along the trail, though this time Tori was careful to separate herself from Jade who remained at the back. She strolled along with Sinjin instead, listening as he described what he'd done for the Hong Kong problem. Steve was forging on ahead, searching for the next obstacle, and the rest were strung out in a reluctant string.

Rob fell back, to where Jade was pacing along in silence. "Didn't mean to get you angry, my friend." He commented quietly.

"I know." The dark haired woman replied tersely.

"Just a friendly warning… you know what kind of trouble that crap can lead to." The Finance VP went on. "And you don't need any more crap to deal with than what we already throw on you."

Jade's jaw bunched, then she reached out and broke off a dead branch as they passed it, whipping the shards off into the underbrush. "To be honest, I'm not sure I care anymore." She admitted. "It's all so stupid… I feel like saying to hell with it, and just… " She stopped, and exhaled.

"That puts Kitten in a very tough place." Rob remarked quietly. "You know that… come now, Jade... surely you know the consequences."

She gazed off into the trees. "Of course I know….it's just…this is much more than I ever expected it to be, Rob….it might be more than I can handle." Her eyes flicked to his. "And if I have to choose, the company's not going to even be in the running."

Rob blew out a breath. "Ah." His lips pursed. "Hadn't expected that…all right.. what if we moved Tori to another division?" He reasoned. "Then it wouldn't matter…it's just the direct reporting that causes the issue."

"I'd thought about that." Jade told him quietly. "But the pressure had been really getting to me before I brought Tori in... I don't know if I could go back to that…and finding another assistant… forget it." She raked her dark hair back. "No… maybe this whole thing with Steve's just putting me on edge… I'll get over it." She brushed the subject off. "Sorry about that… I think I need some chocolate."

Rob gave her a look, then chuckled in relief. "You and your chocolate…" He watched Jade dig in her belt pack and tug out a few silver wrapped items. "If you tell me you are carrying around little chocolate kisses, I'm going to have to lose my very meager breakfast over there by the wayside, Jade."

The dark haired woman stopped, and glanced at her open hand, then grinned a touch sheepishly. "Want one?" She offered weakly. "I um… " She waved ahead of them. "I think Tori stuck them in there."

"Oh disgusting." Rob clucked. "I am getting slimed by all this mushdom." He did take a kiss though. "I never, ever thought you had it in you, friend."

Jade sucked happily on her kiss, rolling it around so the chocolate flavor got equally distributed. "Yeah well… wonders never cease." She commented, as a shout from the front of the group indicated the next obstacle had been encountered. "Let's go see what they found this time."

It looked like the next problem was a maze. At least, that's what Tori thought it was, seeing the multitude of wooden paths that wound among each other. The paths were about six inches wide, and reminded her of balance beams, which had always been a bane of hers. "Now what?" She glanced at the paths, puzzled.

"We have to get there." Steve pointed to a low platform about a hundred yards away. "Just a matter of picking the right path." He studied the choices. "I think this is the right one."

"Why?" Jose disagreed, kicking the one nearest him with a toe. "Why not this one?"

"Or this one?" Rob was investigating one that went around the perimeter.

"Look.. this one goes directly across to there…it's closer." Steve argued. "That one there goes all the way over to that side and zig zags, and the other one goes around the edges."

"Well.. but wouldn't they tend to not make the right one the most direct?" Cat asked, reasonably. "What would be the challenge, otherwise?" She watched Mary Lou approach yet another path. "Not that it's… I mean, we can just try each one until we find the right one, I suppose…"

"Wouldn't it be faster if we each tried one, and whoever figures out the right one first tells everyone, and then everyone else can just get on that path?" Tori inquired, peering over the paths. Each wooden walkway was suspended over a coral grotto of pits and slopes, filled with impassable bushes and rock walls. "What is this thing, anyway?"

Jade stepped up behind her, and turned in a full circle. "My guess is, it used to be a lake." She stated. "See how the land slopes up around here?" She pointed. "So that used to be the bottom of it.. soft coral and limestone shaped by the water."

"Can you turn off the Discovery Channel, please." Steve rolled his eyes. "Let's get this over with." He stepped out on his chosen path. "You all can do what you want.. I'm heading over there."

"This is foolish." Elle muttered. "They're going to get a huge piece of my mind when I get back to San Francisco." She put a hesitant foot on a board. "Jesus… if I fall off this, I'm suing."

Jade was the last one to choose. She waited for everyone else to pick a path, then she stood on the edge of the puzzle, and gazed across. Tori was off to her left, and she considered, then picked a path most likely to intersect with the one the brunette woman was on. It wasn't particularly hard, the board being eight inches or so across, you just had to be careful of your step. Falling wouldn't be painful, just embarrassing, unless you were a guy and fell straight down, or you chose to take a dive off the planks and hit your head on the coral.

"See? I told you." Steve yelled in triumph, as his path wound closer to the platform. "You guys better start backtracking… "

Jade bounced on her feet twice, and regarded his planks. "Maybe." She was forced to agree, giving Tori a wry look as the brunette woman glanced her way. "I don't'… " She stopped, as a faint tremor ran through her legs. "Did you feel that?"

Tori concentrated. "Feel what?" She looked puzzled.

"Like a… a shudder, or something." Jade waited, but the feeling wasn't repeated. "No? Must be me, then." She shook her head, then continued on a bit, watching Rob and Elle's paths come close to each other. Then she felt it again. "There, did you feel that?"

"Feel what?" Sinjin had circled around away from the perimeter. "Jade, are you all right?"

The tall, dark haired woman stopped still, and concentrated. "Yeah.. I think I… " Now it was stronger. "There… tell me you didn't feel that…like a truck going by on the freeway."

"I felt it." Tori acknowledged, looking around nervously. "Is it an earthquake?"

"Earthquake!" Elle heard her. "What are you saying?"

Jade's brow creased. "No… but it's been raining down here hasn't it…" Abruptly her footing lurched under her. "Hey!"

"What..." Jose wavered back and forth. "This is some piece of shit trick.. god damn these people…. " He flailed his arms for balance. "Jesus!"

Jade saw the crack. "Oh shit." Her eyes went wide in shock. "Hang on!" Instinctively, she dove in Tori's direction as the entire grotto collapsed under them, in a rumble of rock and splintering wood.

She fell, they all did, with dirt and trees tumbling after them, screams going up as the earth dropped out from under their feet, crumbling and diving down into a sudden, gaping, widening well. Jade covered her head as she dropped, trying to fend off branches with her other hand, and she remained upright until a rock hit her mid fall, knocking her sideways and into the collapsing earth rim.

She grabbed at a limb, but the weight of the earth pressed her onward, and she found herself slipping down a moving slope, with rocks and sticks pelting her painfully. "Tori!" She yelled, just before a sizable chunk of rock smacked her in the head and knocked her into a dark fog for a long, frightening moment. Then she hit bottom, and felt the impact as what seemed like half the world dropped on top of her.

Tori had screamed as the wood disintegrated beneath her feet, but she'd managed to grab ahold of the supports as she dropped, and swung over to the side of the falling pit, scraping along the edges and trying to get a grip on anything to stop her slide. Around her, she could hear the other's screaming, and she ducked a branch, then got her feet under her and managed to slow her descent for a moment.

Not long enough, though, as the earth ledge she'd been bracing against collapsed, and she found herself tumbling head over heels towards a pile of rocks. "Jesus!" She managed to shove away from them, but got caught by a falling tree, and clung to it as it rushed downward, feeling a tremendous jolt as it hit bottom and she went flying through the air.

Luck put her down in a pile of earth and small rocks, instead of anything harder, and she crawled out of the way of some falling limbs and huddled under a tree trunk as the collapse roared around her. She heard her name called, and she lifted her head, peering through the branches towards the sound. She spotted Jade's falling body, then saw it crumble in mid air, and land, with rocks and dirt on top of her. "Jade!"

Tori didn't wait for anything else. She dug out from her hiding spot and dashed across the still moving earth, through clouds of dust and shredded leaves, dodging the odd rolling boulder. "D… oh god.. " She saw the arm sticking out from the dirt and scrambled over the last obstacle, jumping down next to where her lover had fallen and frantically throwing debris off her. "Jade? Hey!" She shoved dirt away from the other woman's head, and was rewarded by a groan. "Hey… hey.. come on… "

"Okay.. okay.. take it easy." Jade mumbled, getting her arms under her and pushing away from the dirt a little. She felt rocks and earth roll off her back, aided by Tori's hands "Whoa.. watch that last step." She managed to joke faintly, as she succeeded in sitting up, reaching to rub her head with a wince. "God damn it.. "

Tori got into the dirt next to her and brushed her off gently. "Jesus… are you alright?" She checked Jade's head anxiously. "What happened?"

"Calm down." Jade caught her hands, and chafed them, feeling the tremors. "It wasn't an earthquake.. " She looked around them, as the rumble eased, and the dust settled, hearing the cries of their companions. "It's a landslide."

"A landslide?" Tori sank down next to her and leaned against her shoulder, sliding an arm around Jade's waist. "A landslide.. okay.. so this is not part of the test, right?"

"No." Jade gazed at her. "Are you okay?"

"What? Oh sure.. I'm fine…absolutely. "Tori assured her. "Just a few bumps."

"You're sure?" Her lover gently inquired.

"Yes… I am. " The brunette woman stated.

"Okay.. well. you might want to let up on my arm, then… I'm losing feeling in my fingers." Jade's eyes twinkled a little.

Tori stared down at her own hand, clenched around Jade's wrist in a white knuckled death grip. "Oh." She loosened her hold. "Sorry." She took several breaths, then studied her companion. "You're bleeding."

Jade glanced at her shoulder "No. I'm all right… it's just a scratch."

A soft, knowing chuckle. "Where have I heard that before?" Tori replied, as she checked the wound. "Looks like a branch poked in here." She sighed, and looked over her shoulder. "Guess we'd better go find everyone.

"Yeah." Jade stood, then winced as her weight came down on one knee. "Oh… shit." Her face twisted in pain, and she sat back down, holding her breath until the jolts of pain subsided. "Son of a bitch."

"What.. " Tori grabbed her anxiously. "Take it easy.." She gently straightened Jade's leg out. "What is it…"

"My knee." The dark haired woman exhaled. "I think the caps dislocated." She gingerly felt the front of her leg. "Yeah.. feel that."

Tori laid hesitant fingers over the denim covered surface, and felt an ominous bulge. "Ow.. Jesus, Jade.. that must hurt like crazy…"

It was making her nauseous, in fact. "Yeah.. um… " Jade took a deep breath. "Listen… could you just.. um… kind of twist that, and move it towards the inside of my leg?"

Wide brown eyes stared at her. "What!?" Tori yelped. "You want me to what?"

"Tori, come on… stay with me here. "Jade urged. "If you just knock it back in place, it's going to hurt a hell of a lot less."

"I don't think I can… god, Jade… "

"Yes, you can." The other woman's voice dropped. "Come on now...it'll just take a second.. grab it and twist. " She took a hold of a nearby branch and clenched it, as Tori's shaking hands fastened over the misplaced bone. "That's it… go on."

Tori closed her eyes ,and gritted her teeth, feeling the hard surface moving and slipping under her fingers. She fought down a queasy sensation, and took as firm a hold as she could, tentatively twisting the bone out and down, conscious of the unmoving silence from her lover. "Okay… hold on. "She held her breath and pushed, then gasped as she felt the part slide into place. "Did I get it?" Receiving no answer, she forced her eyes open to see a very pale Jade slumped against the debris, out cold. "Oh shit!"

A/N: Dramatic-ish conclusion of this trip next chapter. Thanks for reading.