Dysfunctional Family Outing- Part 3

They made their way back to Tiny's van and drove back to camp. Wet and exhausted, they changed into some dry clothes, and put their civvies on tree branches to dry. They decided to rest for the remainder of the afternoon. After a while, the daylight began to fade and Tiny began making stew for dinner.

"Tomorrow night, we'll have some fresh fish...loads of 'em!" Tiny grinned at the others while stirring the pot.

"Can we go fishing tomorrow, Mark? Please? Please?" Keyop gave Mark his toothy "little boy begging" look.

"Sure, we'll take the pontoon out early in the morning, and make a day of it." Mark stretched out against the log by the campfire.

Princess pulled out her guitar again, and strummed some tunes. It was so peaceful in the early evening, sitting around the campfire. They were all keenly aware that their lives were about to change forever. They felt the need to cling to these happy, peaceful moments, as they did not know if they'd ever have them again.

They told stories, joked with each other and laughed together over dinner. Jason and Tiny were giving Keyop a hard time, picking at him playfully and having "mock" wrestling matches on the ground. Mark and Princess were the spectators, standing by and laughing at the "three stooges" antics.

This moment was exactly what Princess had hoped for. All except singing "Kum- bah- yah"... she tried to start a sing along, but the minute she started the song, Keyop snatched her guitar, and the others threatened to ban her from the campsite.

Later that evening, it was Princess who mentioned taking a walk. "I'm going for a walk around the lake, anyone else coming?" Her eyebrows were raised in expectation.

Mark and Jason looked at each other. Jason mouthed, "NOW's your chance..." and gave him a "thumb's up" signal.

Keyop shouted, "I'll go!" and jumped up. Tiny, who was unusually quick, picked up on Jason and Mark's private messages and grabbed Keyop back down. "Oh no you don't, I need you to help with the dishes tonight."

"Aw, come on Tiny, let Jason help..." Keyop crossed his arms and stamped his feet.

"It's your turn, kid, get scrubbing!" Jason gave Keyop the Condor scowl, and Keyop began scrubbing.

"You shouldn't be walking around alone out there, Prin, I'll go with you." Mark leaped to his feet, trying not to look too obvious.

Princess' eyebrows knit together. She placed her hands on her hips. "I can take care of myself, Mark, but I would like some company."

They walked the trail together for the second time, and held hands once they knew they were out of everyone's line of sight.

"So, are we going back to our spot?" Princess cast a sideways glance at the Eagle as her lips curled mischievously.

"Huh? Uh, sure...it's a...it's a great spot." Mark felt a little uneasy about possibly repeating last night's events. He knew the team was catching on.

They sat still in the tree, cuddling with each other and staring out over the lake. They listened to the evening sounds...chirping crickets, humming locusts. Little lights danced above the water and all around them, lightning bugs were everywhere. It was a magical evening.

Princess traced her fingers lightly over Mark's back and ran her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. Chills rolled down his body. He was having trouble controlling himself. Princess had always been a "touchy- feely" type person. She was that way with everyone, but she was especially that way with him. She gave him the unconditional love that he craved, and their attraction for each other had always been difficult to hide. He needed her as much as she needed him. Being an orphan, he had never felt this strongly about anyone, and it made it even more difficult to know that she felt the same way.

He finally couldn't take any more; he reached over and embraced her, planting the most passionate lip lock on her cherry red lips. As they pulled apart, she gasped in shock, and needed a moment to catch her breath.

"Mark, I've been hoping you'd do that for a long time..." She grinned.

Mark suddenly realized that he was breaking about half a dozen rules. "I'm sorry...I made a mistake..." He sheepishly pulled away from her and made a feeble attempt to explain.

"MISTAKE? Is THAT what you call it?" She interrupted his rambling explanation. "No, Mark, it was MY mistake for ever letting you kiss me!" The irate Swan jumped down from her perch and stormed down the path.

Mark could only watch her shadow disappear among the trees. He wanted desperately to win her back, and tell her how much he loved her. But he couldn't. He had to be her commander, not her lover; the two of those didn't mix.

Tears flowing down her cheeks, she returned to the campsite, crawled into the one-man tent, and cried herself to sleep.

The three others witnessed this. Jason spoke up. "Uh-oh, trouble in paradise!"

Keyop and Tiny gave each other questioning looks and shrugged their shoulders.

After some time alone by the lake, the Commander came back, with his head down, his hands in his pockets and dragging his feet.

"What's wrong with Princess?" Tiny stoked the fire with a stick.

"I don't want to talk about it." Mark replied. He entered the two-man tent they had slept in together the night before.

"I'm gonna find out. We gotta get to the bottom of this, or we'll all be at each other's throats during the missions!" Jason joined Mark in the tent.

Mark lay on his side with his back facing Jason. Jason reclined next to him, propping his hands behind his head and looking at the ceiling of the tent.

" You know, Mark, we all know something's going on between you two, you might as well tell us...or our imaginations will run wild."

"Jase, all I can tell you is don't ever show your feelings for a subordinate...ever!"

"Oh, come on, it's not that bad is it?" Jason turned on his side and propped his head on his elbow.

"We're not supposed to fraternize...the Chief warned us...but I didn't listen...it's all my fault." Mark sighed heavily.

Jason's imagination was wandering. "What did you do?"

Mark turned on his back and stared at the ceiling. "I kissed her tonight...and then I told her I was sorry."

Jason grimaced and acted like he had been punched in the stomach, "Ohhh...not good...never, never apologize for kissing a girl. You should know better, Commander."

Mark looked Jason in the eyes. "I tried to explainwhy, but it was too late, she stormed off."

Jason was quiet. The manipulative wheels in his mind were turning quickly. "We gotta fix this. Let me think. You're planning on going fishing tomorrow, right?"

"Right."

"There's no way she'll go on the trip with you, now. How about if I stay behind and talk to her?"

"If you think it will work, go for it...I just want things back the way they were. This was supposed to be a team-building effort. Instead, I turned it into a disaster."

"Don't you worry, Cap'n, ole' Jase is on duty, I won't let you down..." Jason laid back down and fell asleep.

Mark continued to stare at the ceiling, lost in his thoughts.