I just finished catching up with your Teamwork series (which is awesome, btw), and came by to see who the woman behind the writing was :D (YEYZ. ANOTHER FF.NET WRITER WHO'S GOT AN LJ PRESENCE. LJ = street cred. Or something ;)

Anyway, this was very illuminating. Raises more questions. I felt like you could have ended the whole thing with the beaches chapter that's up right now (on FF.net, where I found your work) - it had a nice, happy open-ended ending feel - but it's bits like this, and the places you explore in your world, that keep it fresh and exciting for the reader. The right amount of plot/action to balance and grow the relationships. Love it!