Thank you SO much to all those who reviewed! I never expected so much love and so here is the next chapter. They should start to get longer as I go! I will also be incorporating things from the show, issues, incidents, conversations etc. to try and make it more authentic … I hope! :D

I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter so please let me know what you guys think

Chapter 2 – A Long Way A Way

Antonio and Herrman walked along the front of the house, the grass crunching beneath their feet with each step they took. As soon as Antonio had mentioned the boat their aunt and uncle had, Herrman had to see it and so off they went, to the front shed, Herrman excited at the idea of going for a fish with the boys later in the week. "How's the little one?" Antonio knew that Cindy and Herrman had had a child less than six months before hand, he loved kids, if he could, him and Laura would have another but he didn't know how much luck he would in convincing Laura to go through it again.

"Oh man, he is good. Getting really big! The place is madness, I am just happy we were able to move out of the in laws house and into our own, ya know?" Bonding over children and their families might have seemed like something they wouldn't do but Antonio and Herrman knew they were on the same wavelength, both knowing that their families were their lives. "God, its scary when you see them grow up the way they do, I mean my eldest daughter has just started to get into boys. How am I supposed to deal with that!" Antonio shook his head, he hated thinking about his daughter dating, although she was still a little young to be, he could tell by the posters in her room and the TV shows she watched, it wasn't because of the music or the good story telling that she had those interests, it was the boys in the bands and on the screen.

"There is nothing you can do about it. We are all doomed when our kids get older. It's exactly how our parents felt I'm sure. I mean your what, six years older than Gabby? How must you have felt when she started dating?" Antonio scoffed, "I am eight years older and it was horrible, she had horrible taste in guys, the bad boys, always making a fuss, I worried about her, put the hard word on most of the guys. I mean, I still worry about her. It's different now though, I want her to be happy, I want her to find someone but at the same time, no one is good enough for her." Herrman laughed, he found it amusing how Antonio would talk about Gabby, like he was her father but he knew the two were close, he just wished his kids would be as close when they were older.

The two men walked from the front of the house to the back, finding Matt and Kelly sitting on the newly finished deck. "So tomorrow, the four of us will head out by the river down the road and see if we can't catch dinner?" Antonio changed the subject, as much as he loved his sister, he didn't want to think about her with guys, although he knew that there was one guy she really wanted. Matt and Kelly looked up as the two came around the corner, handing them beers and sighing at the hot sun on their faces. "Oh that sounds like a right plan." Matt revelled in the idea of going fishing, he hadn't been since Hallie had died and despite the reasoning for the trip that time, he had enjoyed himself, coming back a month later refreshed and ready to move on with his life.

After a few moments in the heat and a few more swigs of the beers, Kelly spoke, "Where are the girls?" each of them shrugged, not knowing the land well enough to make a judgement call on where they would be, Antonio laughed, "They found the late by the back fields, Gabby and I used to swim their all the time, the rope swing is still there I think. God water sounds so good right now…" and with that the boys each smiled, finished their drinks and made their way inside to get their swim suits on and headed out to the lake.

It wasn't a long trip to the lake, no more than about 10 minutes but in the heat, it felt like so much more. It wasn't long until the boys could hear the laughter coming from ahead of them and Matt smiled. He could pick Gabby's laugh from a mile away and he loved it, the smile she showed when she laughed and the little quirk of her right eye, he loved everything about her, plain and simply, he loved her. That thought brought a smile to his face, the goofy grin he got when he thought about her, totally unaware that Antonia and Kelly had looked his way.

As they got closer to the lake, the boys stopped short, it wasn't just a spit of water in the middle of a paddock, it was actually enclosed by the side of the mountain on one side, a small water fall coming from high in the mountains off the rocks and there were beautiful tree's lined up around the areas as well. It was a very secluded place and it was beautiful. "My aunt found this place one day and turned it into a closed off area. She had all the plants put in, she loves it up here." Antonio smiled at the look of awe on the faces of the boys; happy they had reacted that way. Coming into the clearing near the water, the girls looked over their shoulders at the sound of their footsteps.

"We thought we would come join you." Kelly spoke as he made his way to Shay, sitting on the side of her lounge, Herrman and Antonio following suiting and putting their towels down next to their wives. Matt just smiled, as he placed his towel on the ground, noticing out the corner of his eye that Gabby had turned her body towards him, watching his movements, interested to see what he would do next before moving back to her laying position, her arm covering her eyes to stop the sun from hurting her. Matt revelled in the fact that she had covered her face; he was able to look at her, really look at her.

He took in her bronze coloured skin, the way her legs curved and her chest rose and fell as she breathed. She was beautiful. His smile grew a little more as he took in her very small belly that was visible between her bikini top and bottoms that she was wearing. She was by no means chubby or fat or anything by that name but she also wasn't completely skin, her tummy showing that she liked to eat and wasn't afraid of food and that's what he loved about her. She wasn't perfect but she was his perfect.

Gabby could hear the movement around her as she covered her eyes, the sun glaring down on her, annoyed she had not brought her sunglasses with her but she was also using her arm as a tool, out of the corner of her eye, where her arm was not covering she could Matt watching her, looking at her up and down and she smiled, they had often caught each other staring but had always smiled it off and went about their jobs, but this was different, she knew he was looking at her because of what she was wearing.

She heard him clear his throat after a moment, smiling to herself again as she heard Antonio speak, "Casey, over here!" She heard Matt walk away from the group, moving her arm from her face and looked to her side, getting a nice view of him in his swim trunks and no shirt, her breath caught in her throat at the sight of his bare back and she could only image what was going to happen when he turned around, but he did, he and Antonio walked off towards the side of the mountain, she knew where they were going.

Casey followed Antonio up the side of the mountain, very few words were spoken between the two men, but they just seemed to know exactly what the other was thinking. "Gabby and I found these ledges when we were kids, we used to see who was able to climb the highest and who had enough balls to actually jump. Needless to say I was always the one who went the furthest." Matt followed with each step with the side of the mountain, coming to a landing about 30 feet in the air. They looked down at the group below. The girls laying on the couches and the two boys looking up at the sky, watching to see what was going to happen next. "You need to aim for the middle of the lake, that's the deepest point."

That was all Antonio said before he took three very quick steps and leapt off the ledge, falling the distance before meeting the lake, the laughter and splash echoing through the enclosed space. Matt waited a few moments, seeing Antonio's head come back up from the bottom of the water, he laughed, no one ever said they had to be mature on this trip. With one quick glance at Gabby, who was watching him intently, Matt followed exactly what Antonio had done, taken three large steps and then leapt off the side of the ledge, calling out as he made his way into the lake.

The sudden rush of very cold water surrounded Matt as his body was completely encased by the liquid; he wasn't expecting it to be that cold. He didn't know how long he had stayed under the water for but as his body rose, his head, shoulders, chest and arms crashed through the top layer of water he called out, the rush of air in his lungs and the coldness of the water caused a slightly painful 'wow' to come from his lips.

As he cleared his eyes, he noticed that each of him friends were laughing at him, they had clearly found his noises amusing, each but Gabby, who took a few moments of looking at him before cracking a smile. Matt wasn't sure why she wasn't laughing but he was going to ask her about that later on.

Gabby had watched as Matt hit the water, her smile growing as she remembered her and Antonio doing the same think when they were kids, but when Matt didn't come up straight away, her smile faded. He was down longer than he should have been and she was worried, she was going to go in after him but as she rose slowly, Matt's head reached the surface of the water, a strangled sound coming form his lips as he flicked his head to the side, water spraying across the lake, he hand rubbing eyes to clear the water from them. She watched him for a moment but smiling, he was ok. That was all she needed to know.

Feeling the heat on her back, Gabby decided it was time to get in the water, Matt was still there, Antonio had come out to be next to his wife, and she needed to cool down. Walking the short distance to the water, Gabby let the water engulf her feet, then her legs, her hips, her stomach, her chest and then her shoulders. She had never had any issues getting in cold water, and when she looked into the middle of the lake, seeing Matt floating not far from her, watching her every movement, it made it all that much easier to get in the water.

"It's cold isn't it?" He spoke to her softly as he came to her side, loving the way she moved in the water, the way she tipped her head back to wet all her hair. "Yea, but I love the cold water, especially on days like today." She smiled back at him, feeling as though no one else was around. Matt reached out his hand for her, they were best friends, it was not unusual for Matt to touch her arm or her hair or her hand, and so he hoped that this would be no different, or at least wouldn't freak her out too much.

They seemed to be in a trance, Matt and Gabby floated in the water, barely apart, their hands encased together, not even realising others were around until splashing and voices were heard. "Hey Gabby, remember playing wrestle wars?" Antonio laughed at the memory. Gabby pulled her hand from Matt, a shy smile gracing her face at the thought of their hands together and so she turned to face her brother. "You mean do you remember getting beaten by me at wrestle wars!" she laughed; she was always so good at that game.

"What was wrestle wars?" Kelly called out as he and Shay followed Herrman, Cindy and Laura into the water. "It's when you have a partner and you sit on their shoulders in the water, another pair do the same thing and then the two people on top try to push the other one off. We used to do it all the time!" Gabby smiled wider at that memory, those were good days. "Oh that sounds like fun!" Shay jumped on Kelly's back pulling herself up to his shoulders and resting there, "Ok, who is first!?" Gabby smiled and looked at Matt, his smile matching hers and so she reached for him, bringing herself onto his shoulders to match Shay's position and so they fought.

Their arms were outstretched, trying to grab the other and make them fall, after a few moments of tugging and pulling and much laughter, Shay and Kelly both fell to the side into the water, claiming Gabby and Matt the winners. Laughing so much, Matt accidently leaned too far, sending Gabby over his head and back into the water. She spluttered as she found the surface again, Matt's hands around her hips steadying her. As she cleared the water from her face she found herself to close to Matt she could feel his breath on her face, the worry in his eyes as though he had hurt her. The world seemed to fall away until Cindy spoke, "My turn!"

Matt didn't want to let go of her, he had her so close, their legs moving through the water together, touching and bumping, his hands on her hips holding her close, and her hands on his shoulders, steadying herself. Today was going to be a good day.

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