She stopped for a moment in the humid air to catch her breath and wipe her brow as the trail became more difficult. *As if you could even call this damn little thing a trail.* As far as she could tell, there didn't look to be a gas station around either to ask directions. Her fearless leader was several feet above her, and he appeared to be having much too good of a time. Did she need to remind him that he was the one who climbed K-2, not she? Whose idea was it to do this anyway? And then there was Mr. and Mrs. Nature Boy who started this side trip...

"Derek, do you really know where we're going?" Her voice stopped him and he turned to look at her.

"I can see that I'm going to have to work hard to restore that sense of adventure you once had," he teased.

She snickered. "And you have no idea how much trouble that sense of adventure has gotten me into." He started to climb again, and she sighed as she followed him. "I'll tell you some of the story, if you don't kill me first."

"Are you saying that you'd like to rest?" At her slow nod, he chuckled. "All right, let's sit near these ferns." The area seemed to be one of the few spots around them that didn't have something growing up, down or sideways at them. He extended a hand and helped her up, then reached into his backpack for a bottle of water. "At least the sun isn't shining right down on us." He looked up at the canopy of trees above them.

"Good. I'd probably pass right out if it did. While we sit here, I can..." She stole a glance at him. "Do a little more talking to explain things."

"Alex, you don't have to..." he began quietly.

"Yes, I do, Derek!" She took a deep breath before her voice softened. "I have to explain; you need to understand." She looked down at her hands. "I have to explain why I acted the way I did after you went to all the trouble..." Her voice caught. "Aren't you curious as to why I changed so suddenly?"

"Yes, but it wasn't vital that I know why," He wrapped his arms lightly around his knees. "You'd tell me when I needed to know."

She laughed faintly. "And I'm not the only one who's changed. Where is this kinder, gentler Derek coming from?"

"I don't know." He grinned. "I'd like to think that it's part of the island's magic. Maybe there's a marae around here." He took her hand, and she gazed only at their linked hands. "So why don't you tell me."

"God, was it only 24 hours ago?" His fingers played with hers, and the feel of them against her skin sent a heat through her. "I actually had a great afternoon, Derek, on that motu with you. I think I made that pretty clear until I... freaked on you. I don't think I could thank you enough for doing such an... amazing thing. The food and the music and the..." She giggled. "...ambiance of it all was something I will carry with me forever. Unfortunately..." She wrapped her hand around his. "It also brought back some not-so-pleasant memories."

"Of what?" he asked gently. Her head rose at the sound of a bird in the trees above them, and she watched the large branches sway lightly in the breeze.

"The party at the Winston Rayne Hall of Antiquities in August 1989. Or rather, the morning after when we..." She left the remainder unsaid as she released his hand. "Do you remember?" Her head turned to him and her heart twisted at the shadow that crossed his face.

"I take..."

"I know, I know. You take full responsibility." She pulled at the sizeable plant by her feet. "You believe that everything that happened that night was your fault."

"It was. I should not..." His voice was more emphatic, and her hand reached out to squeeze his shoulder.

"It wasn't your fault, Derek," she said quietly.

"But I..."

"But nothing." She stood and looked down to where they had started before she spun back to him. "Do you *really* recall everything, Derek? I seem to remember that you were a bit drunker than I was. Listen, I was pretty buzzed. I was giggling and the world was spinning."

"I do remember that we had a fantastic time at the party. You looked beautiful in that dress." He laughed. "Armand wanted to steal you off to his Muse� de Bordeaux, but I wasn't about to lose you to him."

"So I was simply this pretty object to be won." She twirled a leaf in her hand.

Derek stared at her. "Is that what you think? Alex, I wanted your skills and talent for the Luna Foundation, and I wanted to get you into the Legacy, to be a member of my House."

She exhaled loudly. "I know, and I'm sorry. I knew that later, but back then I thought..."

"You thought that you were only some item that Armand and I were trying to take from the other." No, that wasn't it at all...

"No," she whispered. She cleared her throat and spoke louder. "I thought that you were interested in me as a woman, so I tried to make you see that I was receptive to that." She could feel his eyes on her, but she couldn't meet them.

"When I tried to leave after seeing you to your room..."

"I kissed you and dragged you in." He flushed slightly before he shook his head.

"No, I wasn't strong enough to resist a lovely young woman of whom I was very fond at a moment when I..."

"Very fond..." She laughed and he gave her a puzzled look. "You know, it might be better if you don't say anything more so I can finish this. Just let me..." She held up her hands as a gesture for his silence. "Let me tell my side." She turned to look at him and saw him reluctantly nod his head.

"Good." She turned her back on him once more. If she was going to make it through this, she needed to talk without seeing whatever expressions came to his face. "I don't know if you knew it, but in those days I was a little... infatuated with you. So when you invited me to that gala..." Her voice softened as she nervously picked at a fern. "God, I was thrilled. But when I came back from our lunch to find all those boxes, and that dress..." She chuckled. "I believed I had died and gone to heaven. It was the most exquisite dress I had ever seen."

She gazed at him. "I hope you gave a raise to whoever picked out that dress for me. It made me..." Her voice caught. "I felt very special."

"I sensed you'd like it." The mischievous look on his face made her heart miss a beat. He chose it? Her eyes widened as he walked over to her.

"You're certainly a changed young woman from that night," he said, his tone serious. "However, I still feel that the majority of blame is mine."

"Derek, it..." His fingers brushed away the tear that slid down her face, and he moved closer to her. "No." She backed away from him and the kiss, holding up her hands as a barrier. "I can't think when you do that, and you may not want to have anything to do with me after I tell you..."

"I doubt that very much," he replied. "Why don't you tell me everything you need to as we continue hiking? That way you don't have to tell me right this minute." He stood and took her hand. "Let's climb a little farther, then you can tell me more when we need to rest again."

He was right; but there was so much to tell and she didn't want to lose her nerve... She sighed. "All right." She'd just have to make sure she didn't.

They continued on in relative silence, taking short breaks to rest and drink more water. She also knew that that night was on his mind at this point just as it was on hers. It was preying on her...

"Why don't we sit and have something to eat," Derek said as he pulled her up to him. "There's a beautiful view of the bay from here."

He was right. She was quiet as she gazed out at the spectacular scene. How could she now tell him about... She bit her lip. Charlie, his name was Charlie. She'd have even more difficulty if she couldn't tell Derek why she was so different the next morning and...

He took her hand and drew her closer. "Alex, tell me at once. I can feel how much this is bothering you, and I want it gone." He put his arms on her shoulders. "What was it that I did that night to make you angry at me now?" His voice rose and she fought for control. "I was... *We* were drunk and had sex. It wasn't the first time it happened between a man and a woman, and it won't be the last. I've apologized to you for it, but you seem to think..."

"You want to know? Okay, fine," she spat at him as she roughly pushed his arms away. "Well, Derek, at a rather... inopportune and... climatic moment, you said another woman's name when you were in bed with me!"

Damn him for pushing it. She wanted him to know the truth, however, to feel the ache. Tears stung her eyes. She thought she had forgiven him long ago, but the pain was fresh in her heart once more. If Rachel only knew the actual story of that night...

He paled somewhat, then colored slightly. "I can guess her name, considering the circumstances that night."

"It was my own stupid fault, really," she said, sarcasm replacing anger. "See, I thought you wanted me, I thought you were in that bed with me, I thought..."

"Alex, I was in that bed with you. I don't..." He shook his head. "I don't remember saying..." His arms dropped and he stepped away from her. "Do you remember Virginia, the older woman you rescued me from? She told me at the party about Serena's wedding to Spencer, taking great pleasure in doing so by relating every minor detail to me." He gazed at her with a sad smile. "We have much in common, Alex. I thought Serena wanted me." Her rage dissipated at the flash of anguish she saw on his face before it was gone. "But we have to forgive and move on, move past it."

"But what if it's not that simple? I admit I had a good share of the blame, Derek." She walked over to an outcropping and sat down, playing with items inside her pack to keep her face hidden. "I wanted you, I went after you, I seduced you. I thought the feelings that I sensed from your jacket were for me, so I decided that I'd show you..." She shrugged. "I got you, but you wanted another."

"My Gott, do you think I took you to bed with no feelings for you at all?" He knelt beside her. "Didn't I show you that I cared for you? I was trying to fight the enchanting effect this lovely young woman and her kisses were having upon me." He took her hand. "I wanted to make love to you right there on Mt. Tamalpais."

She flushed as she stood, her backpack falling to the ground. "You're not making this easy, Derek." He grinned at the affection in her voice.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know why you keep insisting on taking the blame for that night."

The anger rose anew within her, and she furiously grabbed at her bag. "Maybe because I once again foolishly trusted the man I love!"

His eyebrow shot to his hairline at that last statement. He looked so endearing that the fury drained out of her. Why couldn't she stay mad at him... She leaned down and picked up several items that had fallen out of the knapsack. "Well, I certainly hadn't planned on telling you that way." She stole a glance at his face and noted the befuddled look. "Oh, come on, Derek. Don't tell me that you're surprised to hear that."

"I... I..." She sighed and closed her eyes. The man could be utterly dense at times. Not that there weren't instances when she wished she didn't love him; she had spent a fair amount of energy trying not to or even pretending not to love him. Placing the bag next to her, her eyes sought his.

"You didn't figure it out after that night at the hotel? The conversation and kiss at the portal? The scream and kiss after you came out of the House alive?"

"I... I... care..." Yet that dazed expression had the ability to melt her heart and put her brain on hold.

"You care for me." Her voice softened at the awkward tone. "I know, Derek, and now *you* don't have to say anything else." She sighed again. "I do love you, and I won't deny it. Which is why I have to tell you the rest of it." She fought the temptation to bite her nail, and settled for merely clenching her fists.

"I need to tell you..." Alex took a deep breath, inhaling the earthy smell of the forest around them. "I need to tell you about another man. Charlie..." She choked for a few seconds. "He was..."

"He can wait a little bit," Derek said gently. "Come on," he took her hand. "That's enough revelations for the moment. Let's clear our heads with some more hiking. We want to finish the climb before dark, don't we?"

She laughed at his growing smile. "Sure. Let's go," she said as she squeezed his hand. She pushed the subject back in her mind again. As long as she was out here with him, she should enjoy their time together. For all she knew, it might be their last.

A growing sound soon caught their attention, and they quickly recognized it. She hurried along the path, dragging Derek along with her. They scrambled under a large thicket of ferns, and she could spot the water ahead of them. The path wound around a stream on their left, and before long the roaring became noticeably louder. Suddenly, there it was...

Alex stared at the vast waterfall before them. "Look at the size of it." She squealed and ran closer, putting her hand out beneath the water. "Isn't it breathtaking..."

"You're going to get wet," Derek shouted before smiling at her.

"Look!" She pointed at the rear. "There's a little path! You can stand behind the falls and look out..." She followed the small trail a short distance.

"Alex..." She heard the warning in his voice, but he couldn't see the clear route behind it as she could. She headed back and found him about to walk through. "See?" she screamed above the roar of the water. She pointed straight ahead, then indicated with her fingers that they could make their way past it.

She took his hand and started to lead him underneath the waterfall. She laughed as the water splashed beside them as they kept close to the stone blocks. She stopped and pointed at one of them and made a chiseling motion. Were these man-made markings on the stones?

Derek stared at one and then pointed, indicating something with his hands. What? She shook her head to show him that she didn't understand. He put his hands together. Was it a prayer, a religious site? He nodded. She moved in for a closer look. Water abruptly poured down on her and she sputtered as the coldness hit her. She caught him laughing, so she grabbed him and pulled him under the falls with her.

Within a matter of seconds they were soaked, each trying to pull the other under the water while keeping themselves out of it. Alex shrieked as Derek held her against him, and kept both of them under the flowing water.

"Derek! Are you trying to drown me?" She squirmed in his arms until he finally dragged her away from the deluge, his back against the stones as they laughed. When he released her, she threw her arms around his neck and they kissed.

The length and intensity of their kisses grew until she backed off. "Derek, don't do that..." She tried to catch her breath as she held out her hand to put some space between them. "I... I've got to tell you about Charlie..."

A grinding noise cut off the rest of her sentence, and she was startled to see Derek fall back. She grabbed at his hands in an attempt to pull him toward her, afraid that he'd fall in the narrow, rocky space. He grunted as he landed against the stones, dragging her forward. She caught a glimpse of more forest behind the stones as she steadied herself against him. "Oh, look at that..." He turned to see what she was examining.

"The stones are some sort of door." He pushed against several, and the grinding sound grew louder. "There's a passageway back here."

"Why do I get the feeling that my sense of adventure is going to get another workout," she muttered. He laughed and held out his hand. She put hers in it, knowing that she'd follow him wherever he wanted to go.

They followed the latest trail through the cavern until they emerged into the forest again. Along with various trees and ferns, however, there stood more engraved stones. "Derek, there's a statue over here, and this almost looks like a grave." She walked over to a flat pile of stones arranged in a rectangular shape with the statue at the foot of it.

"The area looks untouched," Derek said quietly as he wandered over to another line of various shapes and sizes on the opposite side. "It could be an undisturbed site." She watched as he studied the carvings, his fingers lightly skimming over the stones. "This has to be a marae, a temple associated with this mountain. It could..." His voice faded and she recognized the appearance of him having a vision.

Several moments later, his eyes turned to her, and she saw the unease on his face. "I need to get you out of here before..."

Another male voice came from behind her. "So you've discovered my secret."

End part 26