Author's Note: This is such a fun story and thanx to all those who are reading and reviewing!

The Princess Diaries belongs to Meg Cabot and Disney

The sun had disappeared behind the trees, and the air was beginning to cool when the campers finally lit their campfire. They had spent most of the afternoon searching the forest for firewood, and Kip and Nicholas had even managed to catch three fish from the river before it got too dark to see.

Joe and Sebastian had had a hasty discussion about the weather conditions- it was a clear, starry night, very little breeze but a slight sting to the air, and they both agreed that it would be alright to light the fire.

"Great fire," Shades said admiringly as they stood back and watched the fire begin to devour the dry wood and sticks they had picked up, and begin to grow higher. "It'll be perfect to cook the fish on…by the way, what else are we going to have for dinner?"

"As usual, thinking of your stomach," Nicholas said with a slight chuckle.

"I don't know what we have…we'd have to check the supplies, but we can't have a giant pig out on the first night- remember, we have to have enough food for the rest of the week. I, for one, am not going into Lybitt to get more food."

"So, if we run out, we'll starve?" Shades looked slightly annoyed, and Joe nodded.

"Unless you would like to go hunting out the forest, yes."

"Here's the fry pan," Kip said quietly, emerging from the tent with a large fry pan, and waving it in front of the others. "Where on earth did you find this, Shades?"

"You borrowed that without permission, didn't you?" Nicholas asked in amusement, and Shades shrugged his shoulders.

"The kitchen doesn't use it that much, and it'll be back in a week," he said, before Nicholas laughed.

"So, who can cook around here?" he continued, looking around at the others. Kip silently shook his head, quickly followed by Sebastian.

"I'm more of a gourmet cook, but I'll give this a go," Nicholas said enthusiastically as Shades shoved the fry pan in his hands.

"I'll give you a hand, Nick," Joseph added quickly, getting up from his chair, and walking over toward the temporary tent they had set up for their food and supplies.

"We'll be expecting a three course meal," Sebastian joked as Joe disappeared into the tent, but he emerged to give the group a slightly pitying look.

"If that's what you're after, you'd better go back to the palace for that!"

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"Isn't this the life," Shades began, an hour or so later, as he finished cleaning his plate, and taking a swig of his nearby drink. "A star filled night, away from all civilization, and surrounded by god friends…I think I could do this all the time!"

He leaned back in his chair and sighed contentedly, before Joe jokingly shoved the pile of plates he had collected, as well as the cool fry pan, into his lap.

"Hey! What are you doing that for?" Shades asked in protest.

"Well, since Nicholas and I do the cooking, you, Kip and Sebastian can do the washing up," Joe said, sitting down in his chair next to Nicholas, and openly laughing at the disgusted look on Shade's face.

"Don't tell me you haven't washed up before?"

"Yes, I have…I just choose not to do it all the time…I usually do it, maybe, once a week, or less, depending on my schedule…" he pretended to look pompous, and the others laughed, knowing that his schedule depended on the Queen's.

"No wonder I can smell something from your end of the hallway when I walk down there in the morning," Kip said with a chuckle before ducking, narrowly missing a piece of bread that Shades had thrown.

"I just hope you haven't shown Charlotte your mess of a room…I was disgusted enough the last time I was in there," Joe said, taking a swig of his drink.

"It has character," Shades said as he stood up and walked over to the temporary washing up stand, and large container that they had brought for washing up. Kip had just poured in hot water from the campfire kettle into it, but Scott obviously hadn't seen that as he let out a yet when he plunged his hands into the steaming water.

"That's hot!" he bellowed, pulling his hands straight out again.

"I did just pour some very hot water into it," Kip chided as the other three hid smiles- it was funny seeing everyone so domesticated, either cooking or washing up…even squabbling over who was going to wash up or cook. They knew that the women wouldn't believe their eyes if they saw this….!

"Gosh, imagine if Charlotte saw Scott washing up!" Nicholas, unable to contain his mirth, finally burst out laughing, as Shades turned and gave him a withering look, rubbing his hands dry with a towel. After a moment, as his hands returned to their normal colour, he managed to chuckle sheepishly.

"I think she'd be laughing harder than you at what I just did…she just loves seeing me make a fool of myself…not that it happens very often," he added hastily, mindful to keep his reputation in tact.

"You wouldn't see me doing this back at the palace….not even for a million dollars!" he added jokingly, before turning and beginning the washing up.

Joe laughed at the sight of his former colleague washing up, before sighing slightly and looking back into the fire. He wondered what Clarisse was up too….a discreet look at his watch told him it was coming up to eight o'clock…he would give her a call in another hour or so- he just had to make sure that everyone had gone to bed before he disappeared….

"I wonder what the girls are getting up to in our absence," Sebastian said from the other side of the fire, and Joseph smiled- it was if he had read his mind.

"If I know Lily, she would have rounded them all up to have a party!" Kip said with a laugh as he dried another plate.

"I think Mia would have been more than happy to go along with it," Nicholas added with a chuckle.

"I bet they aren't missing us at all…." Shades said with a grin, and the others nodded.

"It would have been interesting to see how they would have coped if they had come along on this trip….imagine what they have been like…."

"No showers," Sebastian said with a broad grin.

"No phones," Kip added with a quiet smile, as Joe felt a slight squirming feeling inside. They all thought that they were unreachable….little did they know what he was going to do later.

"No maids or comfy beds," Nicholas finished with a laugh. "Still, it would have been fun to have them along…"

He sounded slightly wistful at the end of his sentence as, for a moment, each of them wondered what their other half was doing back in Pyrus.

"Perhaps it might have been," Shades said nonchalantly as he poured the washing water out, and leaned the container against a nearby tree. "Still, it doesn't matter now…speaking of, what are we going to do?" he asked as he flopped into his chair.

"When my friends and I went camping, we used to tell scary stories…Joe, Sebastian, do you know any scary stories…like of something weird that happened around here?"

"Mmmm," Sebastian said thoughtfully, thinking hard. "I know…this happened a long, long time ago, apparently, but there is this legend of the forests around here being haunted…"

"Haunted?" Shades, Nicholas and Kip, leaning forward in their chairs, said together, looking slightly skeptical but interested. Joe, who had heard the story many, many times before, chuckled to himself for a moment, before he realised that this could be the perfect opportunity to make his phone call…He stood up, hoping to disappear silently, but attracted the attention of the others.

"Where are you going? Are you too scared to sit and listen?" Shades asked, a grin on his face.

"I've actually heard this story many times before, and I don't need to hear it again…I was actually going to go for a stroll into the forest for a little while, to find some more wood…I hope I'll come back alive," he said in a spooky voice, and both Kip and Nicholas looked slightly nervous.

"Have fun!" Joe said, winking at Sebastian, before disappearing into the dark woods…..

In the meantime, back at the palace, Clarisse was busily sorting out clothes to pack for the trip the next day. Within an hour of formulating the plan, Mia had disappeared and, several calls later, came back victorious.

"Everything we need will be dropped off with security later tonight, so we'll be all set to leave early in the morning!"

After her announcement, the small party broke up as they all had to go and get packed. Clarisse had a quick dinner before striding into the bedroom and began rummaging though the wardrobe. After going through a rack of her own clothes, she realised that most of her clothes were inappropriate to go camping, although she had found some good stuff. She looked at her clothes thoughtfully for a moment, before her eyes wandered to Josephs' side of the wardrobe…and she decided to invade his side…She had always wanted to try on some of his clothes (in the privacy of their own suite, of course), and he had often joked about making her wear it for the entire day.

"I'd love to see how most people would react if you wore one of my flannelette shirts and jeans…I think most people would be shocked," Joe said with a loud laugh, picturing the scene- his ladylike wife dressed in some of his clothes…People would be shocked!

"You never know what I may do," Clarisse said mysteriously….and now, here she was!

Soon enough, she had enough clothes, both hers and his, to last a week out in the bush- including her bathing suit- and she went searching for a bag to put it all in. Suitcases were too cumbersome and heavy…she soon found one of Phillipe's duffle bags in one of the spare wardrobes, and she smiled as she held it up.

"Perfect!"

She was just beginning to pack her cosmetics in with the clothes, when the phone rang. Knowing Mia liked to have prank calls, she ignored it for several rings, but then realised that Joseph had promised to call that night, and she rushed to the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hello you. It took you long enough to answer the phone!" her already wide smile broadened at the sound of the familiar voice on the other end- it was Joseph!

"I thought it was Mia, fooling around as she usually does…I'm sorry," she sounded penitent, and he laughed.

"It doesn't matter, sweetheart. We're talking to each other now- and, besides, I would have kept calling you until you answered!"

"Yes, I know you would have…even if it had been at midnight! How are you managing to talk to me then?"

"I brought at least three mobile phones with me, and I found a perfect spot where I get reception, so…."

"I actually didn't think you would do it…I thought you would be having too much fun with the others….but I'm glad you did," she added softly.

"I'm glad I did too," he said equally as softly.

"So," Clarisse said after a pause. "How is everything going there?"

"It's actually going very well…Shades and Kip were being very domestic, washing up for us, and Nicholas and I cooked dinner…."
"That does sound very domestic!"

"Actually, we almost had our first squabble when we arrived- you know how we only packed two bags last night?"

"Of course- and I can't believe that was it!"

"Yes, anyway, the rest of us had brought our two bags, but guess who decided to bring 4?"

"Scott," Clarisse said with a smile. "I guess he was being extra prepared!"

"By the way, did you hear any loud noises out the front of the palace this morning?"

"Joseph, my love, I went back to sleep as soon as you left, and I didn't hear a thing…but, apparently Lily did…why?"

"Shades thought it would be funny to rev the engines up before we left…just a little goodbye message!" Joseph sounded slightly annoyed, but Clarisse burst out laughing.

"At least Scott makes your life interesting!" she said between fits of laughter, and Joe finally had to start laughing as well.

"But we haven't had a chance to do much else…we spent most of the afternoon looking for firewood for the fire. But, Kip and Nick did catch three fish for part of our dinner…"

"It sounds like you're having a lot of fun up there!" Clarisse said with a smile, dying to tell him her news, but wanting to keep it a surprise.

"What about you? What have you been doing all day?"

"After sleeping in, I watched the news, went for a walk around the garden, read a book…actually, the day flew by so fast that I can't remember what I did today!" Clarisse was relieved that he wasn't there- he always seemed to know when she was telling fibs (not that she did it that often), and he could easily get whatever she was hiding out of her by kissing her…

"Sounds like you were busy…how are Mia and the girls?"

"They're fine…we had a little gathering here before, and it was quite a lot of fun."

"Oh, I wondered when you'd have your first party without me there…I didn't imagine it was going to be about 12 hours after I left!" Joe joked, pretending to sound offended, but laughing.

"It wasn't my idea, darling, Mia and the other girls showed up…It was only good manners to join in and have some wine with them," Clarisse mock protested, but was laughing almost as hard as Joseph. That was one of the best things about being married to him- they were always laughing at something, or joking around with each other….

"I bet!" Joe retorted, and then continued laughing. Just hearing the sound of her voice assuaged his feelings…he hadn't counted on missing her so much, but he did…as he said to Nicholas before, although everyone else had a different view of her, he knew that she was a lot of fun, happy and cheerful…and this time away had made him realise just how much he loved her…

Clarisse, on the other end of the phone, was feeling like a schoolgirl- 14 months of marriage, over 25 years of skirting around the issue of their developing romance, and the man still made her heart race!

"What are your plans for the rest of the week?" Joe changed the subject- he knew that if he was going to make the batteries in the phone last another day (at least), he would have to get off the phone, but he wanted to keep talking to her…suddenly, a whole week without her seemed impossible…

"I haven't got anything really concrete in mind…maybe some shopping in town, maybe a little gardening…who knows?" Clarisse said in a light voice, hating to lie to her husband, but wanting to keep their trip tomorrow a surprise. "What about you?"

"Probably a lot of fishing and hiking….maybe even some swimming…I don't know, I'll see what the boys want to do."

"Well, don't get up to too much mischief while you're away, or find any pretty girls up there…remember, you're a married man now!"

"I very much doubt we'll get up to too much mischief…and we're at least 40 kilometres away from Lybitt, so no pretty girls…As if any of them would measure up to you!" his voice turned tender at the last part, and Clarisse blushed at her end.

"Stop it, you're embarrassing me!"

"You're never going to believe how beautiful you are, are you?" Joe said in a gentle voice.

"It's not very Queen like behaviour to be vain about one's looks," she protested.

"I don't care…you're the most beautiful woman I know, and I'm going to keep telling you that every day!"

"Alright, but it'll be your fault if I get vain," Clarisse teased in a sing song voice, and he chuckled huskily.

"I'll agree to that now…But I don't think you'll ever get vain..."

"We'll see about that," Clarisse chuckled in a low voice. "You never know….."

There was a long pause as they just enjoyed the moment between them, before Clarisse regretfully glanced at his bedside clock- it was coming up to nine o'clock, she needed to finish packing and have an early night….but she didn't want to…but had to…

"I think I had better let you go now, otherwise your battery is going to go dead in the middle of the conversation," Clarisse said with a little sigh- they had been talking for nearly half an hour, and although she loved every second, she was mindful that his battery couldn't be recharged until he returned…..Not that it mattered after tomorrow, she thought with a small giggle.

"I'll give you a call tomorrow night, alright darling?"

"I'd love that…and I love you, darling" she added softly, missing him badly, but remembering that she would see him the next afternoon.

"I love you too, sweetheart. This time alright?"

"Perfect…talk to you tomorrow…" she had almost slipped and said 'see' but narrowly avoided it.

"Talk to you tomorrow…"

She stared the phone for a moment after they hung up, wishing she was still talking to him, before realizing she still had a bit of packing to do. She was almost finished packing when she heard a soft knock on the door.

"Who could it be at this hour?" she asked softly to herself as she walked over to the door, and opened it to find Mia standing there, looking extremely happy.

"Mia! What's wrong?" Clarisse asked, stepping back to let her in, and Mia only laughed.

"I'm smiling, and you ask if there's something wrong. You've got an imagination, Grandma!"

"I just wondered…it's almost 9:00 at night, and you should be doing your packing…."Clarisse trailed off as Mia sat down in one of her chairs, and smiled up at her. Clarisse was suddenly struck by a thought- what if she had decided not to go, after all?"

"I'm almost packed, Grandma, and I'm looking forward to seeing Nick tomorrow…I guess you miss Joe pretty badly as well, don't you?"
"I…well, I…"Clarisse stammered, before nodding. "Yes I do- very much."

"I knew it- I could tell it by your eyes this afternoon!"

"I know it's silly…we've been married for 14 months, but after all the years…."

"I understand, Grandma," Mia said in a soft voice, smiling affectionately at her grandmother. "I think it's absolutely beautiful to see how crazy you two are about each other…I think the years you spent apart have made you love each other more…if that makes sense."

"It does, and I do…."Clarisse said, smiling dreamily into the distance, before turning back to Mia. "So. What do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"I came to tell you a secret- but you can only tell Joe…no one else," Mia said shyly, and Clarisse suddenly remembered Mia being unwell over the past few days, and the fact that she wasn't drinking any wine….She suddenly remembered where she had known those symptoms….she had suffered them herself, many years ago….

"Yes…"Clarisse said, pretending not to be on the edge of her seat, but she realised what her granddaughter was going to tell her.

"I'm pregnant," Mia said simply, a glowing look in her eyes. Clarisse sat still in her chair for a moment, before beginning to beam happily.

"Congratulations, my darling girl….you're going to be a mother!" she laughed out loud, so happy that she could shout the news from rooftops, and walked over to give Mia a long embrace.

"And you're going to be a great-grandmother," Mia teased into her ear, and Clarisse pretended to look disgusted when they broke apart, but they both knew that Clarisse was genuinely over the moon about the news. She only wished that Phillipe had been here to hear the news…

"That means Joe will be a great-grandfather…I wonder how he'll handle that?" Mia said with a giggle when they finally sat back down again, and Clarisse looked at her in awe. She looked so happy, radiant and excited- she looked so beautiful, as there was such a glow about her…

"I'll make sure he can handle it," Clarisse joked. "Don't worry, he's going to be as happy as I am….How are you feeling? Should you be going camping?"

"I'm fine, Grandma…I've had some bad morning sickness on the way, but I feel fine most of the time. And yes, I should be going camping- I can't wait to see Nick."

"Does he know yet?"

"We had our suspicions before he left, but he's going to be so excited when I tell him," Mia said with a dreamy smile- she couldn't wait to tell him.

Clarisse smiled fondly at her- she could well imagine the excitement that Nicholas would have when Mia told him…Rupert, on the other hand, had been rather off hand about the whole thing…he had been excited, but it was also a requirement- the obligatory heir and a spare…Not that it had mattered to her- she had loved every minute with both her boys, and she would have the chance to enjoy it again, as a grandmother….

"I had better go," Mia said after a moment, yawning. 'I've got a little more packing to do, and I want to have an early night…."

"Yes, that's what I was planning to do," Clarisse said, following Mia to the door.

"So, is it 6:00 out in the hallway?" Mia turned back to her for a minute, and Clarisse nodded.

"I would set my alarm for 5:15, just to make sure," she teased gently, before hugging Mia again….This was such wonderful news….

"I will….good night, Grandma," Mia smiled tenderly at her grandmother.

"Good night, darling…see you in the morning," Clarisse said, softly brushing her cheek, before Mia turned and left the room.

Clarisse shut the door behind her, and leant against it for a moment- her granddaughter was having a baby! She couldn't wait to tell Joseph….only a few hours away!