Preston stumbled out the door with a baby bottle in hand; I'll give you three guesses as to where he got that. Taking a sip out of it, he sighed in relief and followed Nurf to Harrison and Nerris's car. Commenting on the booze's somehow sweet-and-sour taste, Space Kid called out to them, but they had already entered the vehicle.

"No, wait! Wait, wait! Oh, darn it..." Space Kid muttered indignantly under his breath. "I thought we were going together."

"Calm down, Space Kid. You're not the only one with any mode of transportation."

Quite literally everyone stopped in their tracks at the sound of that voice. They turned to find a very familiar man with a very familiar Afro. Neil himself glanced around and shrugged in confusion. "What?"

"Neil!" Nikki rushed-rushed towards her second male best friend to give him a hug while her first trailed behind. Max himself rolled his eyes with his hands in his pockets. Neil was caught off guard by the ensuing hug, but eased into it. Seeing Max approaching them, he couldn't help but think to himself: Wow... Max and Nikki are married this time around. This is gonna be make me rich... Little did he know...

"Nikki, Max! So good to you guys–!"

CRUNCH!

"YOW!"

Everybody watched in shock at the events that unfolded before them. Neil was just greeting Max and Nikki when the former kicked him in the nuts (and not punched him in the face like he had expected him to do), much to the horror of the latter and pretty much everybody who was watching. The Indian-American boy smirked and chuckled under his breath, patting him on the shoulder for false comfort.

"Yeah. Good to see you too, Neil."

"Max..."

When it was David chastising him for something he did, Max remained nonchalant and indifferent. However, when it was Nikki's time in the spotlight... Well...

"Heh, heh. Sorry, hun. So worth it, though."

Nikki facepalmed herself and helped Neil up. He commented as she did, "God. Got some nuts on you."

"Are you okay, Neil?"

"Oh, relax, Nikki," Nurf exited the car, "Max didn't kick him that hard. If anything, he was taking it easy."

POP!

"AYE!"

Max cackled and ran off. "Next time, Neil, I won't be!" A livid Nurf (who was on the road to recovery from being delivered a low blow to the crotch as well) chased after him while Preston sighed in disbelief.

"Greetings, Neil. How is life treating you?"

"Up until that crotch kick? Fairly well, thank you, Preston." While he did glance around to find just about everyone from the camp, Neil just had to ask to confirm his suspicions. "So... Is everyone from the camp here?"

"Yep!" Nikki nodded a tad too fast. "Max is currently being chased around David and Gwen's house by Nurf, who arrived here with Preston. Preston may or may not have a crush on Ered, who was talking with Nerris, who's married to Harrison and in the car with him right now. Speaking of David and Gwen, they're both talking to my mom and your dad about transportation issues while Dolph and Mal are getting to know each other better before we leave. Oh, and if you're wondering, Tabii with one eye isn't here...at the moment."

. . .

"Huh. That's actually everyone from the camp. Wait, my dad's here too?!"

"Yep! I told you my mom would hit it off with him quite well!"

"Ugh, of course. Why am I not surprised? I just hope he doesn't mention–or use–Socrates again..."

"Why? What's his beef with the Greek philosopher?" Max entered the scene from the left, Nurf trailing behind from the right.

"No, no. It's like..." Neil began to explain before realizing that he wasn't present during Parents' Day, only been told small details by Nikki. "Oh, never mind. You weren't there."

"Good. I was worried we were going to suffer through another one of your boring-ass speeches," Max remarked. "Listen, as much as we would love to listen to you, Neil, I'm afraid we have a 10-year reunion to get to."

"Wow. You've really changed a lot, Max," Neil (not overcome with sarcasm) was genuinely taken aback by Max's attitude.

"Pfft. Not really. I'm just trying to set an example for little Mal," Max gestured to the young girl.

"Oh, who's she?"

"Why," Nikki brightly smiled as she hugged Mal from behind, "our little bundle of joy."

. . .

"HUH?!" Neil glanced between Max, Nikki, and Mal before finally seeing the uncanny resemblance. The young girl's skin tone was a balanced mixed complexion of Max's sunshade and Nikki's rosebud. Her eyes were froly like Nikki's, but her swept-down black hair screamed Max while the silver tree tips at the end echoed her as well. She donned a red hoodie above a mustard yellow shirt, dark grey skinny jeans, olive-and-white sneakers, and two white Band-Aids on her left cheek with scratches on her right. Yep. Definitely the offspring of Max and Nikki.

"Aw!" Nerris shot out of the car and began to quite literally cuddle Mal in her arms. "Max, Nikki! She's so cute!"

Mal could only giggle and melt into Nerris's cuddle while Harrison had no choice but to set the car on park and see for himself. Indeed, the offspring of Max and Nikki was very cute to look at, while her present personality suggested otherwise. That didn't stop her from being nothing short of adorable, however, and yet she resembled the former (Max) far more than the latter (Mal), bar none. He couldn't help but feel glad for Max, who managed to get his act together and make a life for himself. Of course, having no actual parents to call his own (up until David and Gwen saw it fit to adopt him) may have something to do about it.

"Yeah... I guess she is," Harrison nodded in agreement. "So, wait. Max, does this mean she has an Aunt Gwen and Uncle David to look forward with?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Max returned said nod as he grumbled, "But honestly, they could've been worse."

Before Nikki and Mal could ask what he meant, David and Gwen arrived at just the right time.

"All right, kiddos! Are we ready to get this show on the road?"

"They're not kids, David."

"I know, Gwen, but they're still kids at heart. Are we ready?"

"Hells yes," Max shouted out, "Let's go before the other campers get distracted by the little pile of cuteness that is my daughter."

Nikki shot him both a chastising look and the biggest shit-eating grin he'd ever seen. Max merely rolled his eyes and shook his head as he entered the car and drove off. Meanwhile, Neil – wanting to spare himself the entirety of a car ride talking about...whatever his parents desired to talk about – entered Space Kid's car before Preston and Nurf jumped in. Lastly, Ered and Dolph hitched a ride with Harrison and Nerris just as David and Gwen allowed Candy and Carl (who, like Neil, had taken a cab on the way) to tag along with them.

Now it's time for the overlapping conversation scenes normally found in movies with ensemble cast.

Conversation #1 (Max and Nikki...Plus Mal):

"Max, you okay?"

Max looked up from his driving to find Nikki looking at him with a concerned expression. He nodded a tad too fast in an attempt to drop the subject. "Yeah, yeah. I'm okay."

"No, you're not. What's wrong?" She wasn't convinced, but she didn't mean to pressure him into telling the truth. However, that's exactly what he did when he relented.

"I'm worried..."

"About what?"

"About my parents. Nikki, they haven't seen or heard of Mal thus far."

"Why is that a problem?"

Damn it... I didn't tell her yet.

"Remember a few summers ago when we had that Parents' Day event?"

"I do. That's when my mom screwed Neil's dad and we become step siblings for life. Wait..." The horror of the situation began to unfold as Nikki let the puzzle pieces fall into place. "Did... Did they not attend?"

"They didn't just attend, Nikki. They fucked me over in any way they could and made my life up a living hell until that point. This, despite the fact I did absolutely nothing wrong and tried my best to look to their needs and wants. I had enough, so I decided to go to the police and tell them everything; turns out they were so deep in my parents' pockets that they were reduced to eating donuts firing shotguns into the ceiling now and then. Sending me to Camp Campbell was just their last resort in order to protect their reputations and I never heard from them since. So who knows how they would react if I proved them wrong by marrying you and having Mal?" Max's grip on the steering wheel tightened. "I guess I was nothing but a worthless weight to shove off their shoulders."

Nikki was stunned silent by Max's heartbreaking tale of parental neglect and asked him to pull over. When he did, she unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned over to hug him, prompting him to return the gesture.

"You're right about a few things, Max," Nikki started her own tirade. "You did absolutely nothing wrong to your parents and had every right to go to the police, even if they ended up being useless in the end. But here's where you're wrong: you're not worthless or a weight on their shoulders. If anything, they are the weights on your shoulders. Yes, you can be a cynical and sardonic jerk most of the time, but that's just a facade for the ultimate selfless and kindhearted person you really are...and I couldn't be more certain of that."

Max's turn to be stunned silent himself was short-lived when he unbuckled his seatbelt and planted a curt kiss on Nikki's lips for a split second. He shot her a genuine smile soon after.

"You're a lot smarter than you look, you know that?"

"I do know that. That's why you married me."

From the backseat, Mal couldn't help but swoon at the sight of her parents expressing their love and opening up to each other. That being said...

"Mom, Dad? I really hate to break up the tender moment, but...we kinda ran a red light back there."

As they both broke away to process the news delivered to them by their own daughter no less, a swarm of police sirens on cue immediately sounded off in the distance. Their eyes widened (in quite comical fashion, one may add) before both buckled in their seatbelts and Max turned over the engine, driving as Nikki and Mal elicited slight giggles of glee. Ugh... These girls will be the death of me...

Conversation #2: Preston and Nurf (Plus Neil and Space Kid)

"So, my dear friends..." Preston glanced at the rear view mirror. "What have you been up to for the past 10 years?"

"Well..." Space Kid was the first to reply. "Besides the fact that I'm essentially transitioning from desk jockey to field agent during my time in the CIA, nothing much really."

"Hold on," Neil was second, "Space Kid, you're in the CIA? Honestly, given your interest and namesake, I was deducing that you would be a good fit for NASA."

"Oh, I am in NASA, but supervising new trainees instead of going on expeditions is good if not great and close enough."

"Still though, you're lucky as heck. This coming from a guy who currently runs the third billionaire-dollar franchise in the world to date."

"You're not the only one making money, Neil," Nurf was third, "I'm basically getting paid to beat the shit out of everybody and anybody who messes with my customers. Thank God those MMA lessons paid off."

"Yes, but none of you have been held in the highest prestige as I have been. My "Hamilton, But With Jazz" musical finally, finally won all those Tonys!"

"And I couldn't be happier," Nurf patted Preston on the back and congratulate him...since neither Neil nor Space Kid didn't. "Speaking of fame and fortune, have any of you by any chance met a lady in your lives?"

To his surprise, all of them responded with something along the lines of "No" or "Not Yet".

"Really? Alright then. Hey, Preston..."

"I don't like where this is going...but what?"

"If you were given the chance to sleep with any girl, who would it be?"

"Goshdarnit. Nurf, this is the third time you've asked me that infernal question!"

"When were the first and second times?"

"At David and Gwen's house, where we were looking for spare bottles for our booze, which we currently have stored in the trunk!" A Gilligan Cut to a stored trunk of spare bottles of booze later, "Besides... I'm not sure if a girl would take a chance on me anyways!"

"Ah, come on! If I could get a Flower Scout to take a chance on me and arrange a marriage right on the spot, then you can do the same! Besides, it's a fairly simple question. If – the keyword being if – you had a girl on your mind that you wished to sweep off her feet, who would it be?"

Preston opened his mouth to retort, but stopped himself when his mind rewound back to the events at their house. His imagination overwhelming his judgment, the thespian found himself thinking about a certain adrenaline junkie clad in two shades of purple. Oh, Ered... How you amaze me with your fashion sense, dazzle me with your blunt personality, and...excite me with those great big—

"Car."

Wait, what? Preston looked up from his trance to find a huge semi speeding in the line of traffic, blaring its horn as he did so. The guys (sans Nurf) screamed in terror before Preston regained his footing and swerved out of the way. With their hyperventilating fits coming to an end, Neil proceeded to smack him on the back of his head.

"Dude! We could've crashed!"

"It's not his fault!" Space Kid held him back from smacking even more. "He was clearly distracted!"

"Plus it took a full minute tops for Preston to not only lose sight of the road," Nurf then shot the most gleefully shit-eating grin at him, "but also gain a massive boner in the process. And now we all know what that means."

"Preston is a pervert when it comes to traffic?"

"No, Space Kid. Preston... Who did you pick?"

Preston really didn't to speak his thoughts, but he eventually relented...with a sanitized version. "Ered... I was thinking about Ered..."

Surprisingly, after a few minutes, the teasing and jeers never came Preston's way. Instead, a pat on the shoulder (if somewhat rough) was a sign of reassurance that his friends meant no harm. Nurf chuckled, somehow impressed by his friend's choice. "Ered, huh? Preston... That's a good choice."

"That is a good choice," Neil amazingly nodded in agreement, "That is a very good choice. Sorry I backhanded you."

Preston waved him off before continuing to drive. There was going to be two additional conversations, but this chapter's far too long already. Expect them in a later chapter or two.