The Actress

"Watch this hand hole, Sapphire," Andy warned from above, his big orange goggles flashing in the brilliant sunlight. "It's a little awkward and quite a stretch for you."

I looked to where he was indicating my next grip, flexed and un-flexed my fingers to encourage the flow of blood and took a deep breath. I could do it. I knew I could. I stretched out my cold spine, elongated the joints in my shoulder and elbow, and managed to fix my fingers around the pin. But the metal had been put in at an angle, and I just couldn't get the traction I needed to pull up. I shifted my frozen left foot to anchor myself better and thrust my weight further forward.

The moment I did it, I knew it'd been a mistake.

With a terrifying rush, my body began a downward plummet. My hands flailed against smooth rock, a blood curdling scream left my mouth, and my stomach lurched sickeningly. Then Lee's massive arms were around me, and I was securely lodged between his solid body and Everest.

"It's okay. It's okay," he soothed in a voice so low and calm it echoed around my head like a mantra. "I've got you. It's okay." His helmet pressed against mine and his lips touched my earlobe.

"Shit, man," Andy shouted with a rare note of panic in his voice. "What the hell's going on down there with you two?"

I gasped and tried to beat down the powerful surge of adrenalin just released into my system. My heart was pounding as it tried to burst free of my ribs.

"You guys alright?" Andy asked, manically adjusting ropes and spinning so he could get a better look at us.

"Yeah, she's fine." Lee kept his arms tightly around my waist, his body pressing me into the mountain face. "She just needs a minute to recover from the fright, that's all."

His hot breath washed over my cheek and the rustle of his jacket sounded deafening to my hyper acute senses. I closed my eyes and wondered what I was doing there, half way up a mountain, miles from Dean Mayer, and with a gorgeous mountaineer not just saving my life but also embracing me tightly.

"I can't go any further," I said shakily, vertigo suddenly haunting me along with the cold.

"Sure you can. It was just a little slip, that's all."

"No, I nearly fell all the way down." Tears were threatening, I could see them forming on my lower lids. I was sure they'd freeze.

"Hey, hey." He shifted so he could look at my face and through our goggles captured my watery eyes with his. "I'm here, Andy's here, it's okay. We won't let you fall. I promise."

"But…"

"No buts." His voice was determined. "You've come so far over the last week. We'll soon be there, and you've done amazingly well for a…"