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Trial Run (1/1)

"Are we gonna kill our own dinner?" Dylan asked as he stood beside Steve, hands on hips mirroring his uncle's stance, and surveyed the two large camping tents that had just been set up in the yard behind Steve and Catherine's house.

"I don't think that will be necessary." Steve chuckled as Catherine and Jenna smiled.

Steve and Catherine along with Danny, Grace and the entire Allen family had gathered on the beach for the long anticipated camping trip dry run. Assuming all went well, and Steve had every expectation it would, they would head out to camp in the actual forest in a month or so.

"My friend Kendrick's family goes camping every year and they kill a wild pig and roast it over a fire," Dylan reported matter-of-factly. "He showed me some pictures. It's really raw."

"There's a girl on the track team, Lea, her family does that every year for their reunion," Casey nodded as she helped Jenna and Catherine sort out the sleeping bags, making a pile for each of the two tents.

Jacob's eyes went wide. "That sounds cool!"

"Considering we're dealing with an Uncle Steve planned mission here … and how you all got me to agree to this I'll never know ... I'm kinda surprised we're not being left to our own devices when it comes to food. Dropped onto the beach with nothing but a Swiss Army Knife, a piece of twine and a big appetite."

Danny smirked as Cody hid a smile behind a cough.

"Keep it up," Steve warned. "There's still time to change the meal plans. Of course if we're gonna wait on Uncle Danny to take care of it we may starve to death."

"I'll have you know that as long as I have cell service and the ability to call for takeout we'd never starve," Danny volleyed back.

"You don't eat takeout food on a camping trip," Grace smiled Indulgently at her father. "You cook over a fire. That's part of the fun."

Danny put a hand over his heart. "What's happened to you, Monkey? Your Uncle Steve and Auntie Catherine have corrupted your definition of the word fun."

Grace grinned at her father as Steve felt a soft tug on the leg of his pants. When he looked down he saw a very serious Kaitlyn standing at his side.

"Do you need something, Kaitlyn?" he asked as he squatted down so he was at her eye level.

"We're not really going to kill something to eat for dinner, are we?" she asked softly.

Steve couldn't help but notice the slight tremble in her bottom lip.

"No, we're not," he assured her. "We have hotdogs in the cooler for lunch. And chicken for dinner."

"I know sometimes I get a little afraid of Cammie and Scout," she explained, "But I love animals and when we studied the wild pigs in school I thought they were kind of cute. They reminded me of Wilbur from Charlotte's Web."

Steve smiled at her earnest expression. He knew some day she'd make the connection between the live animals she loved so much and the packaged meat they bought in the store but that was an issue for down the road, not today.

"I think you're the first person I've ever heard describe the wild pigs as cute," he smiled at her softly. "But now that I think about it you might be right."

The smile that lit her face was brighter than the mid-morning sun. "Thanks, Uncle Steve."

"You're very welcome, Kaitlyn."

When he looked up he saw Catherine grinning at him from across the campsite as she mouthed the word 'Softie'.

Thirty minutes later the sleeping bags were spread out in each tent, the coolers were under tarps, enough chairs to seat all of them had been brought down to the beach along with a large stack of towels and everyone was ready for a swim before lunch.

"Where do we go to the bathroom?" Dylan asked as he looked at his mother expectantly.

"I left the back door unlocked," Catherine answered. "You can go in the house and go to the bathroom."

"Shouldn't we go outside if we're practicing for real camping?" Jacob asked. "Cody said when you camp in the woods there are no bathrooms."

"One more reason why I don't get why anyone does this willingly," Danny grumbled.

"When we go camping in the woods we'll have to pick out a spot, but for today I think it'll be okay to use the bathroom in the house," Cody assured his little brother.

"Are you super sure?" Jacob asked uncertainly, eyeing the shrubbery near the edge of the property.

"Very sure," Jenna said emphatically as she noticed where his eyes were focused. "We're not going to the bathroom in Uncle Steve and Aunt Catherine's back yard."

"Maybe we can go in the ocean," Jacob suggested.

"Not if you're swimming beside me," Casey warned and Grace chuckled.

"Can someone please let me know soon?" Dylan grimaced as he hopped from one foot to the other. "I really need to go."

"House," Catherine and Jenna said in unison and laughed as Dylan headed off across the sand at a dead run.

After their swim the kids played Frisbee on the beach while Jenna and Catherine took turns throwing tennis balls for Cammie and Scout and Danny sat comfortably in a chair watching Steve prepare for lunch. As he worked, Dylan appeared at his side.

"Can you start a fire without matches?" he asked.

"Sure," Steve nodded. "If I have to. But I always keep waterproof matches in my go bag just in case."

"What's a go bag?"

"It's a bag of things you might need if you ever had to leave the house in a hurry," Steve explained.

Dylan shook his head. "I don't have a go bag." The shadow that passed over his face told Steve he was thinking about the night of the fire.

"I can help you pack one if you want," Steve offered.

"I think that'd be great," Dylan nodded. "Thanks."

"Can you tell the others we'll be ready to start roasting hot dogs in about fifteen minutes, please?" Steve asked as the fire roared to life.

"Sure." Dylan turned and yelled across the beach to his siblings. "We'll be ready to cook hotdogs in about fifteen minutes!"

"I meant … never mind," Steve ruffled Dylan's hair affectionately.

"In fairness, you kinda asked for that one," Danny snorted.

"You didn't camp much when you were a kid did you, Uncle Danny?" Casey grinned as Danny struggled to get his hot dog, which he had accidentally lit on fire twice, from his roasting stick to the waiting bun.

"What was your first clue?" Danny huffed.

"Grandma Clara says camping isn't something most of our family does unless it's at the Days Inn and includes an indoor pool and a free continental breakfast," Grace said.

"So much for roughing it," Jenna teased drawing laughs from both Catherine and Casey.

Danny shrugged. "We do things a little different in Jersey."

Cody helped Danny with his hot dog then placed the roasting stick beside his chair. "Sometimes the way you talk about New Jersey it sounds like a whole different planet."

"You have no idea how awesome it is," Danny grinned. "The Garden State is a real state, with seasons trees that lose their leaves in the fall. Not like all this perpetual sunshine," he waved the hand not holding his hotdog in the air, "which is … quite frankly … unnatural."

"And yet," Steve smirked, "Aunt Catherine and I went to Jersey and smoked Mr. I Grew Up in the Ice and Snow in a snowball fight."

"Yeah we did," Catherine grinned as she high-fived Steve.

"The two of you have extremely faulty memories," Danny groused as the Allen kids smiled at the back and forth.

"You were there, Grace," Jenna chimed in. "Who beat who?"

"Everybody thought Uncle Steve would be really bad in a snowball fight because he grew up in Hawaii but he wasn't," Grace grinned. "He was really good."

Steve winked at her. "That's because I had a good coach."

"Auntie Cath was around snow as a kid, and besides that she's good at everything," Grace continued.

"Thank you," Catherine said sincerely.

"All in all … I'd say it was tie," Grace declared, ever the diplomat.

"Which is really a win for me since I've hardly spent any time around snow," Steve smirked triumphantly.

Danny shook his head. "You are unbelievable. Do you all see what I put up with every day?"

"Wanna play a game of Frisbee football for the tiebreaker?" Steve challenged.

Danny thought for a minute. He knew this probably wouldn't end well for him but he was too stubborn to back down. "Fine, but you and Catherine can't be on the same team."

"We're on the same team but we spot you 10 points," Steve fired back.

"Fourteen points."

"Done."

Danny stuck out his hand to shake.

Cody thought back to their previous games. "You probably shoulda held out for more."

"You brought your school books?" Cody asked as Casey spread a towel on the sand and placed her books in front of her.

"I have some math homework I want to get finished and I need to start deciding what classes to schedule for next year."

"You're doing your schedule?" Grace asked as she plopped down on the sand beside Casey. "Me too. There are so many classes to choose from in high school. I want to make sure I pick the right ones."

"Same here," Casey nodded. "My guidance counselor helped me narrow it down but I have to make the final decisions myself."

"My dad usually helps me but I always ask Auntie Cath too," Grace said. "She's really good at that kind of thing."

"What kind of thing?" Catherine said as she and Jenna returned from a trip up the beach with Jacob and Kaitlyn to collect shells.

"I need to schedule my classes for next year," Casey replied uncertainly.

"She's been working on it all week," Jenna said. "I'm really proud of her. The guidance counselor thinks she should take some AP courses when she's a sophomore so she wants to make sure she takes classes next year that will prepare her."

"That's great," Catherine said sincerely. "Those classes are tough but they'll pay off when it comes time to apply to college."

"Can you look at this?" Casey picked up the list of classes the school had provided, "Maybe see which ones you think I should take? If it's not too much trouble, I mean."

"It's no trouble at all," Catherine said as she took the paper and scanned the list carefully.

"The ones with the stars beside them are the ones Mom and I thought would be good," Casey said.

"These are some really good choices," Catherine agreed. "I see you're going with the tough math classes. That's good."

"It's why I brought my homework," Casey nodded. "I need to keep my grades high so I qualify for the classes I want to take next year."

"You'll do fine," Grace said as she slung her arm across Casey's shoulders. "You're really smart."

"Thanks," Casey blushed slightly. "I just want to make sure I get into a good college. It's not too early to start planning. Especially if I want to get a scholarship."

"The Naval Academy is a good choice," Steve said as he and Danny joined the group.

"Here we go," Danny groaned. "If this animal had his way you'd be raising five future cadets."

"Midshipmen," Steve and Catherine corrected immediately.

Danny winked at Jenna. "Same thing."

"Not even close," Steve argued as Danny rolled his eyes and chuckled. The two men headed towards the water line with Steve once again schooling Danny on the differences in terminology between the various branches of the service.

Catherine shook her head as she watched them go. "That'll keep them busy for a while. Let's

take a look at these classes again."

"What will we do if a wild animal attacks?" Jacob asked as the sun went down and they sat on the beach finishing up their dinner.

"I don't think you have to worry about that, buddy," Cody said as he moved Jacob's glass of Sprite off to the side so it wouldn't get kicked over.

"Maybe not here but in the real woods," Jacob pointed out. "And we're supposed to be practicing."

"Uncle Steve will take care of it if it happens," Kaitlyn said confidently and Steve smiled at her.

"Are you going to be in my tent?" Jacob asked Steve.

"Definitely," Steve nodded.

"Are we having a boy's tent and a girl's tent?" Dylan asked.

"That's the plan," Catherine said. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason," Dylan shrugged. "I thought maybe you and Uncle Steve would want to be in the same tent now that you're engaged. Because of all the kissing and stuff." His face held a look of mild disgust.

"Don't you worry," Danny snorted. "They find plenty of time for kissing … and stuff."

Catherine pinned him with a mock glare while Steve sported a satisfied smile.

"I don't get it," Dylan sighed.

"Someday you will," Cody assured him then began to blush when he realized all the adults were looking at him with knowing smiles.

"Can I sleep beside you like I did in the fort?" Jacob asked.

"You sure can," Steve smiled. ""We'll take the bigger tent so Cammie and Scout can bunk in with us."

"Can you braid my hair like you did at Thanksgiving, Grace," Kaitlyn asked hopefully.

"Sure," Grace smiled and nodded. "Can you braid mine, Casey?"

"Sure," Casey nodded.

"Sounds like we've got that all straightened out," Catherine said happily. "Now if everyone is almost done with their dinner I'm gonna get things ready for s'mores."

"YAY!" Grace and Jenna cheered and soon everyone else joined in.

As they sat around the fire enjoying their s'mores an uncharacteristically quiet Jacob, chocolate and marshmallow smeared around his mouth, stepped up and laid his hand on Steve's knee.

"Uncle Steve," he said softly.

"What's up, buddy?" Steve replied.

When Jacob looked at the ground Steve turned to Cody who shrugged, having no idea what was on Jacob's mind.

Finally the youngest Allen took a deep breath and looked Steve in the eye. "There's a boy on my bus named Derek. He said that when his Uncle Todd got married he stopped coming around as much. Derek said he almost never sees him anymore and they haven't gone anywhere together in ages. Is that gonna happen when you and Aunt Catherine get married?"

The serious look on Jacob's face and the sad look in his eyes made Steve's heart clench.

"No, Jacob … absolutely not." He lifted the young boy onto his lap. "I love spending time with you and so does Aunt Catherine. Nothing is going to change about that once we get married."

"Really?" Jacob asked hopefully.

"Really," Steve nodded adamantly.

"We'll still go camping and racing go-karts and things like that?"

"Definitely," Steve said. "And Aunt Catherine may even come with us sometimes."

Jacob looked at Catherine for confirmation.

"I'd love to," she smiled. "Nothing is going to change between you guys and Uncle Steve once we get married."

"If anything your Aunt Catherine makes me want to spend more time with family, not less,"

Steve smiled.

Jacob grinned widely. "She's pretty great isn't she, Uncle Steve?"

"She definitely is," Steve said, his eyes locked on Catherine's. "Do you feel better now?"

"Yeah!" Jacob smiled, happy once he had reassurance that his fears were unfounded.

"I'm glad," Steve grinned.

"And just think," Dylan chimed in, "Once you have kids of your own the family will get even bigger."

Steve dropped his chin to his chest as the sound of Danny's laughter rang in his ears. "You too, Dylan?" he groaned.

THE END

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