Down in a small valley surrounded by trees and right on the bank of a large pond leading down from a medium sized waterfall, Cody Carson, Seth Thomas, Jalie Thomas and Carmen Dumas walked out of the trees into a small encampment by a beach. Cody dropped his backpack and set down his end of the large red cooler. Seth dropped his end of the cooler and also set his bag down. Cody helped Carmen get her bag off and went to help Jalie, but she already had hers off. Carmen’s shoulders were a dim read as was her face. Cody Carson, shirtless in the sun, was red on his chest but had white straps from the backpack as tan lines. He was in a pair of baggy blue shorts and a pair of Sponge Bob Square Pants boxers. He and Seth both wore Quicksilver hats with matching designs but different colors. Seth was in a black muscle shirt and a pair of red swimming trunks. Jalie was in a pair of red and white shorts and a white halter top. Carmen was in a pair of baby blue short shorts and a pink belly button shirt. Seth took off his shirt and popped his shoes off then ran for the water. Cody opened a folding chair and sat down in it. Carmen walked over and opened one beside him and sat down. Jalie grabbed three beers out of the cooler. She walked up behind Carson and dropped the ice cold beer onto his chest. Cody jumped and grabbed the beer off his chest and Jalie smiled sitting down beside Cody in a chair she set up.

"Shit, its pretty hot out." Cody said with a look around.

"Yep. Hotter then the first time we where down here." Jalie replied. "Remember that trip?"

"Yeah, how could I forget?" Cody said as he looked over at Carmen and smiled. Knowing all too well what the smile was about, she smiled back. "That was when I met Carmen wasn’t it?"

"I believe it was Cody." Carmen said sarcastically.

Jalie eyed the two of them as they chuckled to themselves. "Also the night I told you to jump off a cliff."

Cody laughed. "And I did it."

Jalie smiled "Although I was disappointed at the time, I’m glad you landed on that ledge. If not, Carmen might have had to marry some stupid guy that only thinks about sex."

Carmen’s mouth dropped open and she looked at Cody. "Oh yeah babe, I told Jalie."

"And do you…" Carmen started and Jalie grinned from ear to ear.

"He’s still alive isn’t he?" Jalie said still smiling.

Carmen jumped up and hugged her sister. Seth came up from the water just at that time. He looked at the two and then at Cody. Cody opened his beer and downed half of it.

"Water’s cold." Seth said as he grabbed a towel from his bag.

"Ahhh…" Cody sighed "As is the beer."

"Cody babe, lets go to… the spot." Carmen said, already on her way with her backpack on again. Cody smiled and chugged the rest of his beer. He hopped up out of his chair as Seth made a whipping sound. Cody flipped him off and grabbed his bag and ran to meet up with Carmen, who had already started up the trail.

Cody walked up beside her and took her hand in his. He stopped her in the middle of the forest onset and lightly pushed her against a tree. He smiled at her and started to kiss her. He worked his way down to her neck and she giggled at him, slowly pushing him away.

"Later stud." She said as she continued up the little hill. She turned around and Cody dropped to his knees, falling face first as if he had been shot. Carmen shook her head. "Not falling for that one again." All of a sudden Cody jumped up and started to run after her. She yelped and ran.

Carmen had a very red face and was breathing hard when she emerged on top of the cliff. The grass was as green as any that had graced that land in so long. A rounded boulder laid at the edge of the cliff overlooking the water. In the distance, birds flew high and swooped down toward the waters surface. The blue sky had only a few clouds in it and the lake looked like a small dot in a green field. Carmen stopped to look at it and was suddenly in the grasp of Cody. He also stopped, his arms wrapped around her and his chin rested on her shoulder.

"God, it looks great." Cody said with a smile.

"I forgot why you brought me here back then." Carmen said in awe. "But now I remember."

"Yeah " Cody said. "Carmen, babe, remember the last time we were up here?" Cody continued with a smile as he flopped down onto the grass. "When you and I barely knew each other yet still fell in love with each other? Huh, who would have thought we would be back here, eh?" Cody said as he looked at Carmen. She dropped her backpack and looked lovingly at Cody. She softly ran her hand through his hair and slowly kneeled beside him.

"Doesn't surprise me much." Carmen said.

"Really?" Cody said with a surprised look on his face. "I thought for damn sure your sister would have killed me."

Carmen cuddled up next to him and put her head on his shoulder. "Awe, baby you know how Jalie is. Sure she's tough as nails, but really deep down she knows that your a good guy. I think that you were scared over nothing. My sister surprises a lot of people."

Cody smiled and put an arm around Carmen "You’re telling me? I thought she was going to kill me in the truck when I told her you and I where engaged."

"Speaking of which, you never told me you told her." Carmen said with a smile.

"I know, sorry. But hey, it shocked the hell out of you, eh?" Cody said as he leaned back against a large boulder. "I mean hell, I think she knew but didn't want to admit it."

"Of course she did, Jalie isn't a stupid woman you know that. She just wanted to see how long she could keep us trying to hide our love affair." Carmen giggled

"You know Jalie likes to play games." Carmen said as she ran a finger up and down his face.

"Don't I know it?" Carson said. "If you where any other woman, I would have folded up long ago. Before the battery incident, before the window incident, before the fire incident, before the nail gun game." Cody said with a hint on pain. "That was the one way I didn't want my ear pieced."

Carman shook her head and kissed Cody on the cheek. "Yeah, but it was all worth it. I'm sure you wouldn't have gone through that for any other woman." Carmen stretched out and gave Cody a smile. "You know Jalie, always likes to be the one people confide in no matter what so she can help them. I mean look at Brandi James-Walsh, that bitch bent my sisters ear like no one else." Carmen sat up and mocked Brandi. "Oh, Shawn and I aren't together any more... I'm all alone... Boo fucking hoo."

Carmen leaned back with her hands behind her head staring up at the sky.

"Wow babe." Cody said, climbing on top of her and looking her in the eyes. "Brandi, Jalie, Seth and I all hated Walsh. You never new him, so you couldn't hate him. But if you saw the way he treated people, you would have hated him." Cody paused to choose his words carefully. "And I don't think that you don't like Brandi. The only real time you saw her was when she was hitting on me." Carmen gave Cody a dirty look. "And vies-versa . And I paid for that. Or when she was on camera with us. So sorry about Brandi. But really girl, look at us now. That Brandi shit happened as a test of our relationship and we held together." Cody smiled and kissed her to relax her a bit. "Besides, Brandi don't got jack on you."

Carmen smirked. "Yeah... Well I know you love me, but it's like that women has a spell on you. You may not see that." Carmen looked down. "But I'm not going to argue with you... Let's just enjoy being here."

Cody leaned over and kissed her, pushing her to the ground lightly. "You want to camp up here tonight?"

Carmen sighed slowly "What about Jalie and Seth?"

"They could use the privacy as well." Cody argued.

"What about the beer and the wine?" Carmen counted.

"I could go back and steal some."

Carmen smiled at him. "I’ll start on the tent."

Cody laughed. "And I will go behind enemy lines." Cody opened his back pack and pulled out a paint ball gun. He ran off into the bush as Carmen only laughed.

Cody crept down the hill and hid behind a tree. Seth Thomas and Jalie Thomas where both sitting in beach chairs looking out over the water. All those years of playing Splinter Cell finally might pay off, eh? Cody Carson dropped into a crouch position and slowly moved toward the cooler. Cody aimed the gun at Seth and moved in on the cooler Cody slowly opened the cooler and started filling his pockets with beers. He grabbed a case of coolers and stuck one final bottle of wine in the side pocket of his pants. He closed the cooler silently and started back toward the trail. As he almost made it to the shade a ‘thwack’ came from close by, followed another. Cody dropped from the impact but turned and fired back. Jalie and Seth both knew Carson was there and had shot one blue and one red paint ball at him, both catching him in the bare back. Cody scrambled to his feet but the back of his knee were taken out by a shot from Jalie. Seth took a step forward and got pegged in the forehead with a bright pink paint ball. Jalie looked up and Carmen stood a top the hill. She fired at Carmen but she bought Cody enough time to get into the bush and start firing at Jalie. Jalie took three shots to the chest and still didn’t go down. Finally Carson just nailed her in the knee and took off to meet up with Carmen, his pants weighing about twenty pound more.

Cody met up with Carmen at the ledge. The tent was up and ready. Carmen was standing there with all her weight on one leg , paint ball gun over her shoulder and a smirk on her face. "Had to bail your ass out, eh?"

"Thank you." Cody managed to get out. Carmen walked over and started to pull the beer from his pants. She grabbed the wine bottle and yanked it out and Carson dropped the case of coolers in the tent.

"Fucking paint." Carmen looked at Cody’s back. It had blue paint splatter but no red. The paint ball didn’t explode. Cody had a welt on his back and paint all over his shorts and back. He had a few minor scratched on his chest from running through the bush, or being knocked on his face, one of the two. Something moved in the bush and Carson’s head snapped to it, raising the paint ball gun.

"Wow Cody…" an all to familiar voice said as a man wearing a pair of blue jeans and a white top walked out of the bush.

"Jimmy…"Cody started.

"Styker." Carmen finished.

"You know it baby." Jimmy said raising his arm to the side and looking Carmen up and down. She grabbed Cody’s shoulders and hide from Jimmy’s gaze. ‘Thwack’. Carson pulled the trigger of the paint ball gun and nailed Jimmy in the nuts. "I… Heard you where back into wrestling…" Jimmy gasped.

"So…?" Cody said.

"Well…" Jimmy started.

Another paint ball hit Stryker, this one from Carmen’s gun.

Jimmy groaned. "Bitch." Carson walked over and pulled Jimmy up by the throat.

"If I ever hear that come out of your mouth toward my fiancée again… I will break your neck… Under stood?" Carson said, not playing around anymore.

"Yes." Jimmy gasped.

"Now get the fuck out of here, before I kill you." Cody said and suddenly jerked Stryker to the grass.

"Cody, your going to regret this." Stryker warned "I mean it, I could make you a lot of money."

Cody pulled the trigger and caught Jimmy in the head, sending him rolling down the hill. As he rolled he went right past Seth and Jalie, who forgot about Carson and Carmen for the moment and gave case to Stryker. Cody looked at Carmen and then gave her a hug. "It‘s coming on dark… I’ll get the fire going. "