A/N :Please remember this is fiction! My is disclaimer is in my profile and be warned I will be taking a lot of liberties in this story - call it artistic licence! But I was on 'vacation' stuck indoors with only James Bond movies for entertainment so you can probably guess what I wished I was doing instead!

For Lily Moonlight who likes Mac and Stella stories and was kind enough to leave me reviews for my first miserable attempts at writing.

Remember reviews make a writer's day!

Chapter 1

Danny Messer was not a happy man. He threw himself into the wooden patio chair, folded his arms and stared at his wife's back.

"This is gorgeous!" Lindsay gushed as she leaned on the ornate wooden balcony over-looking the glistening white slopes. "I can't think why we've never come here before."

"Because it's cold!" muttered Danny. "And expensive!"

"Oh stop grumbling!" Lindsay turned to face her husband who was now laid back with his eyes closed having positioned the chair for maximum sun. "Besides we're not paying a dime." Danny opened his mouth to argue but she quickly cut him off before he could start another rant. "Relax, enjoy the beautiful mountain scenery and stop complaining about the price of the beer! Just think if we had to pay for the lodge!" Danny grunted not wanting to admit it but the scenery was spectacular. He hadn't realized that there were ski resorts so near New York and the weather was perfect. There had been a heavy snowfall over the weekend so the mountainside, trees and buildings were covered in thick blanket of pure white that now glistened in the sunshine. Fits of giggles from a table behind him distracted him from his admiration. Judging by the two women's laughter they were not here for that kind of scenery. So far all they had done was poke fun at the poor skiers who fell off the tow lift or who ended up in a heap as they neared the bottom of the slope and realized they couldn't stop. He reached out for his beer and took a small sip with the intention of making it last.

"Oh look! You can see Lucy!" Lindsay squealed. Danny couldn't get up quickly enough. He wrapped his arm around his wife as he squinted at the slopes. "There behind the instructor!" Danny looked in the direction where Lindsay was pointing. Sure enough he could just make out a little purple suited figure standing in line. He hadn't been happy about letting her take ski lessons thinking she was too young but Sid had insisted that the sooner they started the easier they would find it and judging by yesterday's enthusiastic chatter it was a good job he'd let Lindsay talk him into it. Danny watched as the kids slithered after their instructor towards the tow-lift.

"Where are they going?"

"They're going to do their first run. See they'll go up to the mid-point of the Esplanade just above the trees and then they'll come across to the left and down this main slope towards us." Lindsay explained.

Danny looked horrified. "But it's only her second lesson … shouldn't they stay on the bunny slopes?"

"Oh she'll be fine. Sid said that their instructor is one of the best. I still can't believe that he's into all this. He's never said anything before. Oh look there he is with Stella! Stella, we're here!" Lindsay waved franticly as her friend approached. Stella positively flew up the stairs of the bar onto the terrace and into her friend's arms.

"Lindsay, it is so good to see you." The two women embraced. "Danny. I'm so glad that Lindsay persuaded you to come. I hear that Lucy really enjoyed her lesson yesterday. Are you ready for yours?"

Danny gave Stella a hug and then rocked back on his heels in dismay and rolled his eyes. "No. I can't believe they talked me into that." Stella laughed.

"You'll be fine. Stop worrying. It's quite easy once you get the hang of it. Besides we'll be there to help you." Sid smiled benevolently at Danny. Danny glared at him totally regretting having given in to Lindsay's pleading. "So have you guys seen Mac?"

Danny looked confused. "I thought he said he couldn't get here till this afternoon?"

"Well I've just been helping Stella settle in at the lodge and his bag was in the hall." Sid raised his eyebrows in surprise. "I thought perhaps finding us all out he'd just dumped it and come to look for us." Sid looked around at the people milling around below him. There were families dragging kids on toboggans, young women out and about to admire and be admired, teenagers dragging snowboards heading for the slopes and a class of adult skiers tentatively following their instructor. Danny sighed in despair as he watched them wobble past. That would be him later.

Sid asked them if they wanted drinks but Danny and Lindsay were all set so Sid wandered off to get something for himself and Stella. The two women Danny noted earlier were now leaning on the balcony giggling again and pointing excitedly towards the slopes.

"Oh look there go the children. They're so cute!" gushed the taller of the two as she swept her hand through her long dark hair. The kids had all managed the tow-lift with no problems and were now gathered together at the midway point. The looked like little multi-coloured dolls, brilliant against the dazzling white backdrop.

"Oooo look at those two coming down the Nine Pines. That's a pretty tough run. Not bad form. Wonder what they're like under masks?" Danny watched the shorter of the two women, a faux blond in a vivid pink jacket and white leggings bite her lip as they evaluated the ability of two skiers hurtling down one of the more difficult runs. The bright sunshine made him squint as he watched the two flashes of red disappear behind the tree line as the run cut through the forested upper slopes. He returned his attention to his daughter and smiled as he watched the kids slowly snake back and forth across the slope until they all came to a stop halfway down.

Stella leaned on the balcony next to him. "Oh is that Lucy in purple? She's doing really well." The group of kids were all looking intently at their instructor as he explained where he wanted them to go next. They both laughed as a little purple arm shot up in the air. "Guess she wants to go first!"

"Yeah, yeah. That'll be Lucy! As crazy as her mother!" Danny winced as his wife's elbow dug into his side.

"Watch it you!" Lindsay warned. "In a couple of days that'll be us. " She pointed to where a family of inexperienced skiers all sporting bright blue jackets were making their way slowly down the main slope, the over-confident kids leading the way for the nervous parents. As they reached the central section where many of the pistes joined the main run, the two skiers in red shot out from the Nine Pines run into the Esplanade. They weaved their way round the family of beginners causing the two blue jacketed adults to collide and tumble. They shot past, each trying to outdo the other and spraying another couple with snow and ice, and ignoring their shouts of indignation.

Danny, Lindsay and Stella all straightened at the same time, alarm bells going off as they realized that the kids had once more set off and half of them were now crossing the central slope. The two skiers in red were so intent on their race that they didn't realize till the last minute. They shot through the middle of the group of kids who were so startled that two immediately tumbled and a third one crashed on top of them. The instructor could be seen waving his arms and shouting but the two men ignored him and made a run for it.

"Hoodlums!" shouted Sid in frustration as he came back with two drinks. "Did you see that?" No one answered at they were all watching in horror as Lucy realized something was wrong and turned to look behind her rather than concentrating on her turn. They all gasped as she ploughed straight into a pile of snow at the side of the piste. She went down in a pile of arms and legs, one of her skis coming loose and skittering down the slope.

"Oh my God! Lucy!" Lindsay put her hands to her mouth. Danny was about to rush off to her rescue, though how he was going to get up the slope was another matter, when a dark suited figure came gliding up to her stopping with a gentle flick of his skis. He planted his poles in the snow at the side of the slope and bent down to help her. They watched as he pulled her to her feet and then turned to look at the instructor who was trying to extricate a kid in a green and white suit from the two others who had crashed. There seemed to be some discussion between the two men then the man in the dark suit pushed away from Lucy to retrieve her ski. As he side-stepped back up the slope and help her refit her ski, the instructor sent the three others sliding down towards them. Danny, Lindsay and Stella all let out a sigh of relief as none of the kids appeared to be hurt though the one in the green and white suit appeared to be crying and shaking his head. The man in the dark suit bent down and put his hand on the boy's shoulder and then pointed down the slope to where a group of parents could be seen waiting. One of the group raised their hand and the boy waved. The man reached out for his poles and grabbed them in one hand. The kids then back-stepped away from the pile of snow until they were in a group and they turned to watch the instructor who was patiently trudging back to the rest of the group on the other side of the piste.

"Oh that is so sweet." gushed the tall brunette. "That man is helping them. He's on his own. I saw him come down the Lonely Oak run. Wonder if he's lonely ..." Blondie, as Danny had named her, giggled at the innuendo in her friend's voice. He heard Stella huff with indignation. She had obviously heard them too.

"Those boys should be locked up. They're a damn menace scaring the kids like that.", a deep voice announced from behind them. They all turned to huge bear of a man with a tray of empty glasses and a cloth thrown over one shoulder. "How are you Sid? It's a been a while." Sid beamed and shook hands, introducing the others to Jack, the owner of the bar. "So you said lunch for five? You want me to set up here on the terrace?" Jack looked at Sid who nodded.

"Actually, I think you should make it six." Lindsay yelled over her shoulder as she set off down the stairs. "I'm going to get Lucy."

"Oh yes." Sid explained. "The other member of our party wasn't due till this afternoon but I noticed his bag was here already so you'd better make it six just in case." Jack nodded and started to pull tables together in the sunniest corner of the terrace. Sid joined Danny and Stella to watch as the kids made their way down the slope in two groups, the man in the dark blue suit leading the first little group followed by the instructor with the second. As they all reached the bottom, the parents of the boy in the green and white came rushing up. There was some discussion and they all shook hands. Stella shaded her eyes and peered closely at him as he pulled off his hat and goggles. However he turned away as the instructor arrived. They all looked around but the culprits of the mishap had disappeared. As they removed their skis and the children wandered off with their parents they spied Lindsay running up to collect Lucy. Much to Danny's surprise Lindsay hugged his daughter's rescuer before bending down to pick up her skis. The man removed his own skis and expertly linked them together using the poles as carrying handles. He reached down with his free hand which Lucy grabbed enthusiastically. Stella leaned forward and squinted in the bright sunlight. Suddenly Danny straightened up in surprise.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me!"