Part Three
A few hours later the tree was finished and the lights were twinkling. All the girls were sitting around admiring their handiwork as they sipped on hot mulled cider that Walter had fixed for everyone and cookies and treats that Christopher had been baking over the last few days. He was experimenting with new recipes and the girls were the guinea pigs. Not that they minded though as Christopher hadn’t made anything that was inedible and the girls mostly enjoyed the way he looked after them.
Carols were playing in the background and this had been the most relaxed they had been for a while. Christmas was just a short week away and there was a feeling of joy that hadn’t been around in a long time. Mick had joined them and was also regaling the girls with stories of his antics over the years. He seemed to really be enjoying himself and looked very relaxed. It was with great reluctance that he left them to go on his date that night.
The girls had been reminiscing about the holidays spent with their families and some of the things they did as the day got closer. They talked of tobogganing parties and ice skating parties and that was something they all missed. But before things got too emotional and tears start to flow North came in with some news for them.
"Good I see most of you are here." She started as she noticed the crowd in the room. "Well it looks as though we will be going on a mission for the New Year." Groans could be heard throughout the room as she imparted this bit of information. "Now just wait a minute before you all start moaning and groaning. I haven't even told you yet what the mission is going to be."
"Yeah like we’re really going to enjoy a mission." Andrea grumbled. "Why is it that they can’t even leave us alone for the holidays?"
"Actually, I think you may all enjoy this one. I know I will be." North answered back. "Well on second thought, maybe I won’t tell you what it is and I’ll go all by myself."
"Go where exactly?" Genie asked. She wasn’t the most vocal in the group and she was mostly shy and reserved so it was a surprise to hear her speak out.
North looked around before slowly answering. "Well… it looks as though our good friends Scott and Kristen from Pinehaven Lodge have invited us up to spend the New Year with them."
Choruses of ‘wow’ and ‘that sounds great’ were heard as the girls excitedly talked amongst themselves. They had heard about the times that North had been to the lodge. The first time had been just over a year ago when Aries had taken her there for a surprise. The second time had been this past summer when she took Trace, Aries and Aly.
North quietly left the room happy that she had at least taken their minds off what could have been painful memories. Now she had even more planning to do with the upcoming trip. She was a bit excited herself as she enjoyed the lodge and all it had to offer. She wondered if Scott had managed to invite any of the ‘star’ guests as well. It would be nice to see Paul, Brianna and Don again as well as the other actors from the show ‘La Femme Nikita’. The girls would be thrilled if that was the case.
Entering her office and closing the door behind her North got out her address book and quickly found what she was looking for. In no time at all her connection went through and she was speaking with Kristen and Scott. What she managed to find out from them she would keep to herself. It would certainly be a surprise for the rest of them though she thought smiling to herself. Picking up the phone again she dialed another number but got no answer. She would try again later.
*
The days literally flew by that week and after celebrating Anna’s birthday on the 22nd they were ready for Christmas. Everyone had put his or her gifts under the tree and there was an impressive pile built up. It was a good thing that they had drawn names instead of everyone having to buy each other a gift or else there would have been no space left in the room for anyone to enter.
Christmas morning was spent opening gifts and cleaning up afterwards. Everyone was pleased with what they had received. North had made them each a personal ornament and as the girls opened them they hung them on the tree. Michael as well had gotten all the girls a personal gift. He hadn’t gotten any of them when he had chosen his name for the gift exchange and didn’t want to upset anyone. Mick had even gotten every single one of them a small vial of perfume. He seemed so overjoyed to be spending the holiday with them and made sure to give everyone a super big hug and kiss. North was glad now that she had invited him to share in this day.
Christmas dinner went a lot more smoothly than the one at Thanksgiving thank goodness. The girls for once giving up playing pranks on one another. Except for the slight hesitation when the eggnog was brought into the room and served everyone was quite relieved to see that it tasted just fine. Mind you it was a little heavy on the whiskey courtesy of Walter but other than that it tasted great. They all went to bed happy and tired that night, which was a good thing, as they would be travelling the next day to Pinehaven Lodge. They had been packed and ready almost the same day as North had given them the news. No one was even telling what he or she had packed for the New Year’s Eve dance that was going to be held. North was looking forward to seeing everyone dressed up in all the finery.
Part Four
The bus they had been travelling in arrived at the lodge shortly after noon. Snow was softly falling making the Lodge look even more picturesque than North had remembered. Smoke was trailing out of the chimneys into the cold clear sky and it looked just like a picture postcard. The only strange thing about the place was that no one was on the ski slopes and they looked so pristine and clean with the new covering of snow. The reason for this being that Scott and Kristen had just finished up with some needed renovations and hadn’t booked anyone in. Seeing as the repair work had been done in record time and ahead of schedule and they had the place ready, they decided to invite the girls up for the holiday.
As they girls stepped off the bus there was a lot of oohing and ahhing going on as they stood there and took in their surroundings. They were noticeably impressed with what they took in. They were also very glad that North had friends that owned a place like this and had invited them to come. Scott had made sure to have some boys waiting to help the girls gather all their belongings and escort them to their rooms.
North was one of the privileged few that was lucky enough to get the same chalet as she had the last time she had visited. It was almost like coming home after a long time away. After getting her bags unpacked, putting her clothes in the drawers and hanging her dress in the closet North decided she would get a quick visit in with Scott and Kristen before the rest of them descended on them. She also wanted to give them their present in private. She had made them some snowflake ornaments and had also made them each a hand knit sweater. She was glad that she hadn’t sent them out yet when she had gotten the notice that this was where their 'mission’ would take place.
As North walked into the main entrance she noticed the changes that had taken place over the last few months. Gone were the multi-colored valances and in their place was soft gold colored velvet with matching colored table runners on the tables. Even the chairs had been reupholstered with the same material. It made for a very stunning look. She made her way over to the office door and knocked softly before entering.
"North!" Kristen exclaimed. "Oh you’re a sight for sore eyes. I’ve been so busy working on the books I hadn’t even noticed that you had arrived."
North placed her packages on the floor before hugging Kristen. "Well we’re here. I just hope you know what you are doing Kris. These girls of mine can be pretty rambunctious especially once they realize who is going to be here for the party."
"You worry too much North. We’ll be fine. Come on, let’s go find Scott and have a few quiet moments before it gets too busy."
"Sounds great. I could really use a cup of coffee too." North looped her arm through Kristen’s and they went off in search of both Scott and the coffee.
After sitting and catching up on the latest news from each other and exchanging gifts Kristen headed back to her work while Scott went over some of the agenda for the weekend with North. "The others will be arriving on Thursday so that will give your girls a few days to have some fun and make use of everything we have to offer. We have hay rides scheduled for Tuesday night with some of our friends and we thought the girls would enjoy that too."
North was glad that they had everything under control and so organized. "Scott, that sounds great and I am sure the girls will love it. Do you still have skates they can borrow? I know they would love it if they could skate on the lake."
"Yup, we sure do. Mark, our ski-instructor will also be available to help out any of them that have never skied before. We’ll be grooming the trails first thing in the morning, long before anyone is up, so that they can get on the slopes right after breakfast."
North got up and hugged him. "Scott, you are a wonderful man and Kristen is lucky she found you first or I would have snatched you up myself. Well, I think I am going to go have a lay down before dinner. I’ll catch up with you then."
"Okay North, I’ll see you later. I do have some loose ends to tie up for the dance on Friday and I don’t want to leave it till the last moment."
**
Everyone had a marvelous time over the next few days. They went skiing, snowboarding, tobogganing, skating, hiking and whatever else they could think of to do. It was just what they needed after the back to back missions some of them had been on. Evenings were spent in front of the fireplace in the lounge just relaxing and swapping stories of the day.