'Refresh me again. Why exactly are we going to celebrate Canada Day this weekend instead of, oh I don't know, a month ago when it was our national holiday?'

'Because we all had to work and Sophie said that there was going to be a surprise for us when we got to the cottage this weekend.'

'What kind of surprise? Help me.'

Spike looked over his shoulder from his truck, saw the huge suitcase Winnie was hauling out. It was a beautiful Friday afternoon in the height of summer and if he had to wait any longer, they were going to hit traffic on their way out of the city to the Lanes' cottage just outside Haliburton on the edge of the Kawarthas.

'Don't tell me you're one of those cliched women who packs their whole wardrobe for the weekend at the cottage. We're going to be on the beach, and going fishing and being sporty.'

'Nope.' Winnie shook her head. 'It's not heavy at all, just awkward.'

Spike gave it a testing lift, discovered Winnie was right. Her suitcase was indeed awkward but not overstuffed. 'Sorry, babe. I'm used to women who pack a suitcase this size for an afternoon at the beach.'

'More cousins?'

'And very prissy ex-girlfriends. I had one who refused to let me see her without makeup.'

'Bet she didn't get shower sex too much.'

'Nope.' Spike shook his head. 'She would always insist on looking model-perfect, and never ate in front of me, never gassed, burped or even sneezed in front of me if she could help it.'

'So why did you stay with her?'

'Because I was twenty-one years old and she liked how I looked in my uniform. That was one of those unfortunate situations where she only card about the badge, not the man.'

'Poor baby, beating off all those hotties with a stick.'

'Yes, poor me who looked like the biggest stud in the room and was the guy who always ended up alone at night because those bitches wanted to fuck me then leave me and I couldn't do that all the time, I knew it just wasn't me.'

'Gotcha.'

'I was thinking too.' Spike turned from Beverly Street onto College, heading northwest towards Eglington Avenue. 'After we get back from our weekend at the cottage, I want to take you out.'

'We go out all the time.'

'No, not just a regular date, I mean like a night out on the town.'

'Oh, that sounds nice.' The idea he wanted to take her out somewhere fancy made Winnie wiggle a little in delight. 'Where to?'

'A surprise,' he replied, 'One I know you will love.'

'Tickets to another Blue Jays game?'

'Something we haven't done yet.'

The instinct to say 'sex' was hot on Winnie's tongue but she ignore it in favour of pursing her lips and wigglign her eyebrows at him; there was a very good chance of them getting to that this weekend. 'Then I'm just going to stop guessing and let you surprise me.'

'Wait, what?' Spike braked for the red light at Bathurst, shot her a confused look. 'You're just not going to guess.'

'Nope. I'm horrible at guessing presents, so I get back at the person trying to torment me by refusing to guess and letting them steam.'

'You wanna make me steam...' He reached over, grabbed her hand to kiss the delicate skin he found there. 'Why don't you wear a tiny little bikini in front of everyone when I can't touch you?'

'Oh I thought of that too. I have three to choose from, one in bright blue that would be good for around Clark and Dean and Izzy, one stripy number that is for making the guys jealous and one in bright yellow that will make you turn into a cartoon character.'

'Please tell me it's Roger Rabbit, his wife was smoking hot.'

Winnie laughed at that one. 'Why is it all men go giggly over Jessica Rabbit?'

'Because we're weak and easy. Jessica Rabbit is all the hot parts of a woman exaggerated in the best possible way.'

'So why don't guys go after something like that in their real life?'

'Because we know we're completely incapable of scoring a woman as over the top as that, so we set our sights on what I call an R-L-G,' Spike explained, hoping he didn't sound like a total jackass.

'R-L-G?'

'Real Live Goddess, someone you meet who just makes everything feel...right.'

'You are such a romantic, Constable Scarlatti,' Winnie teased him. 'How many of these kinds of Miss Rights have you met?'

'Just one, and she is currently torturing me by making me fantasize about her bikinis on our way out of town for the weekend.'

Lust for her man ran hot and liquid into her belly as Winnie's smile widened. Satisfied she'd done her job for now, she reached over and turned on the radio, then tugged an FM transmitter out of her purse, pulled out her iPod. She knew she was going to earn some squawking from him over the subject of music - amazingly they had nearly completely opposite taste when it came to tunes - but that was just part of his charm, she'd decided.

Spike eased onto the four-oh-one west, gave her a look as he heard the sounds of some Euro-trash techno music blast through the speakers of his truck. 'Really, Constable Camden? You want me to toss your very fine ass out of a moving vehicle in weekend lunchtime rush-hour?'

'Hee-hee-hee.'

'Seriously, turn it off or I may rethink this whole surprise thing.'

'Fine, fine you big baby,' Winnie chuckled, then flipped it to what she'd programmed that would be a happy middle ground for them both - her very inclusive and extensive Beatles playlist. 'There, Your Majesty, is that to your liking?'

'Much and...' Spike caught the smug amusement on his girlfriend's face, squinted. 'You did that on purpose, didn't you?'

'Haven't a foggy clue what you mean.'

'You always do that, purposely turn on that boom-boom-boom shit some brain-dead idiots call music then turn it to something we both agree on.'

'First off, that boom-boom-boom shit was actually Daft Punk, and they are awesome. But more importantly...' Winnie leaned over and pecked his cheek lightly. 'It's fun to watch you squirm from time to time.'

'It's fun to watch me squirm?'

'Spike, everyone knows whether they say it aloud or not that you have the coolest head on the team, you have to being the B&E guy. Getting to see you all flustered and cranky is a nice break from routine. Not to mention seeing you hot...and...bothered.'

'Hot and bothered is easy as breathing around you.'

'Well, then...'

Knowing they easily had a two-hour drive to the cottage, Winnie lifted a hand to delicately pop the buttons of her sleeveless top. She made it to four before tugging open the fabric. 'This should make you very hot and bothered.'

'What the fuck are you doing?' Spike yelped - from the angle, it was very obvious that Winnie was wearing no bra and very close to being labeled indecent.

'Making sure we get to the cottage on time so you can see the rest of what's underneath here.'

'Wow.'

Winnie stepped out of the truck as Spike shut off the engine, looked around at the Lane family cottage. It was a split level bungalow with white trim against chocolate brown wooden siding, nestled on the top of the hill above the placid water of Kidney-Bean Lake in the Kawarthas. The lake, clearly named for its resemblance to the vegetable, stretched out to the north-east of them, making for a perfect spot to see the rest of the action at the other cottages and the campground at the lake's most northern edge.

'This is beautiful!'

'It's Sophie's family place, she and Clark and Izzy have been hanging here for a week and Ed's staying up for his summer vacay after we go back on Monday morning. He'll be back on Thursday.'

Spike glanced at the other vehicles around them - the blue Civic, the black Elantra, the green Rav-4, but did not recognize the snazzy silver Ford Fusion. Curiosity piqued, he helped Winnie haul their luggage out, heard the voices drifting from around the corner of the house on the deck. A few moments later, Ed appeared with a beer bottle in hand in his cottage casual of khaki shorts and a Toronto FC jersey.

'Hey, you made it! Just take your luggage inside, we can move it to your room later. Come see the surprise. Want a drink?'

Winnie and Spike both replied yes, following Ed around the side of the house where they both let out a happy cry.

'Boss! Hey, look at you!'

From his spot at the end of the oval-shaped group of chairs occupied by the rest of Team One, Greg grinned at them from his spot in the brightly-painted Muskoka chair that faced the water. He was still a little pale and definitely shiny from recent exertion, but he was here, Spike thought, nearly whole and moving back towards healthy. In the chair beside him sat lovely Marina, cool and friendly as a pitcher of freshly squeezed lemonade on a scorching summer day; she had her hand laced through his and a smile on her face.

'We just finished some grocery shopping in town and Mister Universe here insisted on pushing the cart the entire time,' she said with equal amounts of pride and teasing in her voice. 'His physiotherapist will be so proud.'

'Yep, today, pushing the grocery cart, tomorrow barefoot water-skiing.'

'Funny man.' Marina leaned over, pecked Greg's cheek that had his still-plump face going pale pink. 'Can we tell them now? The last ones finally got here.'

'Sure.'

'Tell us what?' Sam asked, putting his hand on Jules' shoulder.

'Greg and I are moving in together.'

'Hey that's fantastic!' Spike dropped Winnie's hand to go over and give Marina a hug, then Greg. 'When did that get decided?'

Greg waited until the rest of the gang had shared their hugs before answering. 'Two days ago, we figured it just made more sense for Marina to be at my place - well, our place now, since it's closer to her office and I don't want to uproot Dean before he goes to university. That'll be hard enough on him.'

'He's a well adjusted kid,' Leah said, then added, 'whose father was shot while on the job three months before he's scheduled to leave him for pursuing his own career.'

'Exactly. I'm not causing any more waves for him.'

'Where is he, anyways?' Winnie asked. 'Did he hang in the city with Mira?'

'No, he's here, him and Clarke took Issy down to the shore to build sandcastles. Not much sand but she's a determined little thing, just like her mother,' Ed replied, glanced out over the balcony to the water's edge where the two teenage boys were having a grand time playing in the spit of sand with the cherubic toddler in her summer play-clothes and hat. He leaned over the balcony, hollered at him, 'Hey, under-agers! Spike and Winnie just got here!'

'Sweet!' Dean hollered back. 'Did Dad tell them about my new mommy living with us?'

'Sure did, smart-ass!' Greg leaned over as well, grinning at his son.

'Oye, we have a toddler here! No bad words!'

'Misser 'Reg, no ba' words!' Little Issy chimed in, pointing a chubby little finger towards her daddy's best buddy. 'I lit-tle!'

'We promised the boys as soon as you guys got here, they'd officially be off kid duty,' Sam explained, 'so we can go skiing and fire up that grill for lunch. Guys! Go wet-suit up!'

'Sweet!' Clarke echoed, then tickled his little sister so she howled with giggles. 'Hear that Issy? It's time to go swimming and go in Daddy's boat!'

'Zoom zoom zoom! Boat go zoom!'

'That's right it will go zoom!' Dean infused his voice with the bright cheer he knew his bro's sister loved.

Winnie saw the trio coming up from the water's edge, each of the boys holding the little girl's hands so she wouldn't lose her balance on the hilly terrain back to the cottage. For a moment she wondered what it'd be like to see her own little girl - one with Spike's eyes and dimples and her own curly black hair - tottering up as she held onto a big-person's hand. The thought vanished when Leah sidled up beside her with a cold bottle of Alexander Keith's, tapped her own against it.

'How was the drive up?'

'Breezy.'

'Breezy?' Leah arched an eyebrow as she listened to Winnie's tale of the unbuttoned blouse and grinned. 'Hoping for a little bit more than just a goodnight kiss this weekend?'

'Yes,' Winnie replied immediately, then tried not to blush at her own eagerness; a quick glance over her shoulder told her the others were occupied with debating who would be where during the first round of skiing.

'Winnie, the fact you two haven't taken that step yet is more than a little admirable.'

'Admirable?'

'Yes, at the strength of your will power,' Leah teased her, grinning at her friend's flustered expression. 'We all understand why, though, if that helps.'

'A little but...I don't wonder if he wants me, I know he does. And it's not like we don't have fun together like that, it's just that-'

'Sex always complicates things, even when things are great in a relationship.'

'Exactly. Sometimes they complicate things more because...' Winnie trailed, left her thought unfinished as she watched Spike tug off his t-shirt, and she felt that liquid rush spread from the pit of her belly through her body as she admired his spectacular body. Jesus he was hot.

Leah followed her friend's gaze, couldn't blame her for going a little gooey-brained. Michelangelo Scarlatti was a fine looking man, but more, it was the tender, giving, plain old-fashioned good heart underneath the chiseled pecs and toned torso that made Winnie go gooey-brained. 'Don't worry, Win,' she reassured her slack-jawed friend. 'You'll get to jump his bones soon enough.'

'You girls coming?' Spike called over to them, pride blooming bright in the centre of his chest when he'd caught Winnie staring at him. He never wanted her to stop staring at him like that, not when he felt like a superhero because of it. 'Or are you more of the decorative beach ornaments?'

'No, I'll be there as soon as I change into my swimsuit.'

Spike grinned, remembering the litany of beachwear his girlfriend had rhymed off to him as he kissed her. 'Leah, you coming too?'

'For a little while. I promised Sophie I'd put together the ingredients for some paella with her while Issy has her nap.'

'No!' Issy, being almost two, heard the word from Leah's lips and immediately went into foot-stomping mode. 'No nap! No nap! I big! Wanna go zoom!'

'It's not nap-time yet,' Ed reminded her, in his gentle but firm way. 'But what happens when Mommy says it's time to sleep?'

'Lissen Mommy?'

'Exactly.'

'Hi-fi!'

Issy held up her little palm, which Ed slapped playfully, then turned her big blue eyes to Winnie. 'Hi Miss Winnie! You pidy!'

'Thanks, Issy,' Winnie laughed.

'Moosh Misser 'Pike?'

'What's a moosh?' Spike wondered, and Ed rolled his eyes.

'Someone-' he shot Clarke a dirty look '-taught Issy the word 'smooch' only she says 'moosh' instead.'

'Misser 'Pike moosh Miss Winnie,' Issy insisted, and Spike complied, giving Winnie a quick smacking kiss.

'Happy now, Issy?'

'Whee! Yea moosh!' Satisfied, she dropped Clarke's hand and took one of each of Spike and Winnie's 'Mon! 'Larke say boat time!'

'I have to go put my swimsuit on first,' Winnie told her and Issy huffed out an impatient little sigh.

'O-kay, Miss Winnie! No be long?'

'I won't be long,' she promised, blowing a raspberry on the little girl's cheek which had her forgetting her troubles.

'Mon Misser 'Pike!'

'What a flirt,' Spike chuckled as Issy clung tight to his hand and Winnie straightened up. 'Hey, hey not so fast. One more moosh for the road.'

He tugged Winnie in for a lingering kiss, whispering discreetly in her ear, 'More where that came from later, mama.'

Spike watched her walk off, turned back when he heard Ed's coughing laugh. 'What?'

'Nothing, just...do it already, would you? It's getting a tad annoying watching you dancing around it.'

'Ed, we were friends for five years, I'm not about to push things physically until we're ready for it. I thought that was settled.'

'Right. No, sure, I mean you gotta do what you gotta do.'

'Thank you.'

Ed shook his head as he watched Spike take Issy inside to get changed into her toddler-sized swimsuit and wondered if this was how long it took for them to even have sex, it would be New Year's before any L-bombs got dropped.