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Date Posted: 09:57:02 03/25/03 Tue
Author: dqfan
Subject: Say The Words - ch. 1 & 2

Say the Words
~by dqfan~


CHAPTER ONE

"No, Frank, everything's fine, honestly," Kat assured Mount Horizon's worried founder. Sinking back rather comfortably into Peter's office chair, she gazed outside as a spectacular winter sunrise began filtering through the blinds.

Kat was enjoying her new position of Junior Counselor immensely, although helping Roger manage the school during Christmas break was hardly a taxing responsibility. After all, the place had been a virtual ghost town until a few days ago, with just a skeleton staff and only a handful of students on site. Her most challenging task so far had been organizing a small New Year's Eve party to welcome the students returning for the new semester. She even managed to persuade Roger to light a few fireworks. It wasn't much, but it was the first time she'd been somewhat in charge since her own graduation and Kat was happy to have the opportunity to prove her capabilities - even under such boring circumstances.

"Uh-huh, Roger's gone into town for supplies and it's really qui…" Kat's explanation stopped abruptly in mid-sentence as a commotion outside Peter's office caught her attention.

"What are we doing here, Morticia?" Kat could hear Scott's voice barking down the hallway.

"Yeah, what's the big emergency, anyway?" Auggie shouted, following closely behind.

"Couldn't this've waited until my hair was dry?" Juliette whined, tying her hair into a ponytail.

"I think we should give her the benefit of the doubt," Ezra volunteered, sliding his arm around Daisy as she reached the door to Peter's office, determinedly focused on her mission.

"So do I," David agreed, slithering in under Ezra's outstretched arm, effectively putting asunder Ezra's impromptu coupling.

"You would…" Shelby snapped, thoroughly irritated by their little competition.

"Frank, Frank, I gotta go…Love you…See you next week!" Kat couldn't hang up the phone fast enough as the Cliffhangers poured en mass into Peter's office, each yelling and arguing at once.

"What is going on?!!" Kat shouted, trying to gain control of the situation.

"Ask the witch," Scott screamed.

"Daisy?" Kat asked confused.

"She's the only one we got," Auggie quipped.

"Daisy woke Shelby and me, then Shelby told Scott, and eventually we all got the message," Juliette yawned, plopping into a chair.

"Message?" Kat repeated, trying to understand.

"Big emergency…" Juliette sighed.

"Matter of life and death…" Shelby intoned as melodramatically as possible.

Oblivious to their laments, Daisy wandered toward the sofa, silently immersed in her own thoughts as the dissension swirled about her.

Quietly, she sat on the sofa, staring at the photo of Peter and Sophie that Peter kept on the coffee table. It was taken the night of the MORP - the night they got engaged.

Daisy took the photo in her hands, her fingers tracing lightly over the frame before stopping at Peter and Sophie's smiling faces.

"Daisy?" Kat directed her gaze. "What's this all about?"

Daisy was so engrossed by the photo that Kat wondered whether she had even heard the question when suddenly Daisy whispered, "They're in trouble…"

At that, all the Cliffhangers, including Kat, asked in unison, "Who?"

"Peter and Sophie…they're in trouble…" Daisy explained, quite certain.

"How? Where? Why?" each Cliffhanger had a different question.

"Daisy, did you hear from them?" Kat needed facts.

"In a manner of speaking…" Daisy hedged mysteriously.

"Riddles…she's talkin' in riddles!" Scott blustered.

"What manner of speaking?" Shelby asked, trying to keep her voice calm but afraid she knew the answer already.

"The cards…" Daisy answered matter-of-factly while Shelby rolled her eyes at the expected reply. "The cards told me they were in trouble…"

"You woke us all up because some stupid horoscope said Peter was having a bad hair day?" Scott shrieked, furious with himself for listening to her.

"Far more than that," Daisy responded sagely, "and not just Peter - Sophie, too."

"Tell us all about it, Daise," Ezra encouraged sweetly, to the deafening moans of the other Cliffhangers.

"Yes, I find the occult fascinating," David hurried to concur, attempting to endear himself to Daisy once again.

"Man, you're the poster boy for the occult." Auggie's clever retort caused Scott to grin in spite of his foul mood.

"Laugh if you will, but the cards don't lie," Daisy's tone was completely serious as she pulled her pack of Tarot cards from her jacket.

"First, The Lovers…" Daisy drew that card from her deck.

"Weren't they going on some romantic ski trip?" Juliette remembered.

"Old Pete musta got lucky," Auggie laughed.

"Nah, she probably threw him off the mountain," Scott theorized his more likely scenario.

"The Lovers is the card of relationships," Daisy lectured, ignoring their jokes.

"Next, The Empress," Daisy continued. "The Empress appears when healing is required."

"Deep, emotional healing…" Daisy emphasized, giving each Cliffhanger pause, for they had all gone through their share of emotional healing and it was never a pleasant experience.

"The Strength card," Daisy placed a third card on the table, "signifies that a turning point of inner self-confidence looms…"

"Good or bad?" Ezra asked intently.

"Impossible to tell…" Daisy sighed.

"And finally, Death…" The dark figure stared ominously from atop Daisy's deck.

"What does that mean?" Juliette wondered aloud.

Every eye in the room turned on poor Juliette, astonished that even she could ask such a ridiculous question.

"Well, they don't always mean what they say!" Juliette flustered embarrassingly. "Do they, Daisy?"

Daisy sat totally still, making the group very nervous.

"Do they?" Kat asked for them all.

"The Death card can be a time of major challenges," she began hesitantly, and somewhat optimistically. "Or it can be a time of…"

"Death…" Ezra gulped.

"Yes," Daisy answered solemnly.

"We gotta find them…!" Scott was halfway out the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Kat charged, purposely stepping in front of him, barring his path.

"We can't let them die…" Juliette cried, taking her cue from Scott.

"We'll find 'em, Jules," Auggie reassured her, heading toward the door himself.

Soon, Scott was challenging Kat's authority; Auggie was attempting to comfort a hysterical Juliette; Shelby was entreating Daisy to read the cards again; and, Ezra and David were fighting over who had believed Daisy's predictions sooner. Peter's office was a cacophony of loud voices, nervous yelling and virtual bedlam.

Suddenly, a loud, sharp whistle pierced the din. The Cliffhangers looked up to see Sophie standing in the doorway, calling them to attention with her most commanding two-fingered whistle. A stunned Peter stood directly behind her, surveying the chaos that was his office.

"What is going on here?!" Sophie asked incredulously.

"You're all right!" Juliette exclaimed, throwing her arms around Sophie, embracing her in an overwhelming hug.

Shelby and Daisy were close behind in their slightly more subdued yet warm welcomes.

"Hey, Peter…we were worried about you," Scott offered a firm handshake and a sheepish shrug.

"Us? Why?" Peter and Sophie shared a confused glance at their tumultuous homecoming.

"Perhaps I overreacted, just a tad…" Daisy offered as six pairs of eyes turned in her direction.

"A tad?" Ezra repeated wryly.

"That what you call it?" Auggie argued.

"I'll tell you what I call it…" Scott threatened.

"Enough!" Peter shouted, his hands raised for emphasis. "Guys…blue trail - in five minutes…go!"

"Girls, red trail, move it!" Sophie echoed.

"I'm sorry, Peter," Kat began apologizing.

"We'll talk later," Peter said softly. "Why don't you go see if you can help Roger? He was bringing in some groceries when we pulled up."

Forlornly, Kat headed toward the kitchen, fearful her entire counseling career might be ending as the new year began.

"Guess we're home," Peter announced dryly, dropping their bags on the sofa, as he considered whether they should have stayed in Colorado Springs permanently.

"What got into them?" Sophie wondered, amazed at the mayhem she'd just witnessed.

"I have a feeling we're going to find out…" Peter sighed, turning Sophie by her shoulders and nudging her out the door, back the way they came.

^^^^^^^^^^^

CHAPTER TWO


After their eventful sojourn in Colorado Springs and the idyllic solitude of Vashon Island, both Peter and Sophie had hoped for at least a few hours of re-entry time into their everyday lives. But, experience had taught them that the most effective way to calm a Cliffhangers dispute was a brisk walk in the woods. Unfortunately, even this morning, would be no exception.

"You want to tell me what that was all about?" Sophie questioned the girls as they rested a few minutes before heading back to Horizon.

"Daisy was worried about you," Juliette volunteered readily.

"Daisy?" Sophie's voice begged for an answer.

"I was wrong, all right?!" Daisy snapped, rising from the log on which she was seated.

Clearly unnerved by all the accusations and attention as well as her perceived cosmic miscommunications, Daisy headed off alone toward Horizon, desperate for some meditative solitude.

"Daisy! Wait!" Sophie yelled, as she and the girls quickly packed their gear.

"Go on," Shelby intuned, realizing Sophie and Daisy needed some time to talk. "Princess," she continued with a smirk, pointing toward Juliette, "likes to take it slow and without me she'd probably fall in a hole again…"

Sophie was grateful for Shelby's intuitiveness and, after gaining the girls' reassurances that they would keep Sophie in sight, she quickly matched Daisy's pace.

"Hi," Sophie opened breezily, striding easily beside Daisy.

"So, you were worried about me…" Sophie couldn't hide the affection from her voice.

"I don't make a habit of it," Daisy pursed her lips, wishing Sophie didn't seem so pleased with herself. "But the cards were so volatile…"

"Volatile?" Sophie was curious.

"Conflict, healing, death…an exceptionally perilous confluence," Daisy explained knowledgeably.

"Yes, it was," Sophie admitted.

"So…I was right?" Daisy amazed even herself.

"Yup," Sophie nodded succinctly.

"You okay?" Daisy stopped walking, the concern in her voice betraying the respect and friendship the two shared.

"I'm fine," Sophie reassured her confidently, gently nudging Daisy's shoulder, encouraging her to continue the hike.

"You…and Peter?" Daisy's question emphasized the "and," needing to be sure that they were both all right.

"We're fine," Sophie repeated with a small smile, aware that, ever since their little talk by the gazebo, Daisy possessed a unique perspective on Sophie and Peter's complex relationship.

"I'm glad," Daisy nodded simply, no further conversation required.

^^^^^^^^^

"Everybody cooled off?" Peter asked, prepared to take the Cliffhanger boys on a second trail, if necessary.

"Hey, Man, we've been cool. It was She Who Sees All that freaked," Scott reminded Peter sarcastically. "I coulda nabbed two more hours 'a shut eye if it wasn't for her."

"So, why didn't you?" Peter delved pointedly.

"Huh?" Scott was thrown by the question.

"Why are you all here?" Peter repeated.

"Because Daisy flashed the Bat signal?" Ezra observed, figuring he'd earn some extra credit points with an obviously easy answer.

"And so you came," Peter stated flatly, wanting them to understand for themselves the significance of what they were saying. The Cliffhangers had all formed a deep bond of friendship, whether they chose to admit it or not.

"Well ya. Sure. Nothing better to do…" The replies were mumbled as each realized they'd been caught in Peter's trap of self-awareness.

"Good," Peter smirked, slyly proving his point just in time to see Horizon, appearing over the next hill.

^^^^^^^^

"What happened?" Peter's panic was palpable as he saw the Cliffhanger girls helping Sophie gingerly along the last few feet of the red trail.

"She got a little dizzy past the last turn and twisted her ankle," Shelby explained.

"I'm fine, really," Sophie assured them.

"Just out of practice," she joked, but no one, especially Peter, was laughing.

"It's too soon, Soph," Peter whispered, "you're not ready to be hiking again yet."

Sophie's brush with death had obviously left her weaker than Peter realized. And, as much as Sophie hated to admit it, it was probably true.

"I'm okay, Peter. I just need to rest for a minute," Sophie suggested.

"How about a few hours? Why don't you go stretch out at my place, you'll be more comfortable." Peter's compromise sounded very appealing to a still pale Sophie.

"Talked me into it," Sophie admitted with a smirk.

"I'll ask Roger to drive me back to town," Sophie made the decision for Peter, knowing he needed to remain at the school right now.

More than anything, Peter wanted to be the one to go with Sophie, take care of her, make sure she was okay, but Mount Horizon was his responsibility and, once again, it demanded his full attention.

Reluctantly, Peter watched as Daisy and Shelby supported a limping Sophie back toward the offices, while the remaining Cliffhangers gathered around him.

"What's up with her?" Scott asked for the entire group, shocked to see even the slightest sign of frailty in their usually rock-solid Sophie Becker.

"She got caught on a mountain in a blizzard," Peter explained. "She shouldn't be climbing again this soon..."

"She's gonna be okay, though, right?" Juliette asked with concern in her voice.

"Sure…sure…she'll be fine," Peter replied, wishing he had a little more confidence in his answer.

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