A/N: Y'all are too awesome! Thanks for the response to the Camfic question earlier! I will definitely post it when I am finished with it, which will probably be sometime next month since I will have a bit more time. Thank you for the continued support for this fic. I'm glad y'all enjoy it.
"Give me the phone," Sam said.
Even if the tone was low, Cameron, who'd been trying to text an SOS to Tyler into his phone undetected, jumped about a foot in the air. "No. Dad, come on—aaah," he said, struggling to no avail as Sam snatched and pocketed the object.
"You can't do that!" Cameron protested. "Mom, tell him he can't do that! That was my last connection to civilization!"
Mercedes, however, was too preoccupied with trying to look into the dark wooded area around her to listen to him at all. She couldn't believe Sam had talked her into this.
Sam looked up at her and rolled his eyes. "Baby, for the last time, there aren't any bears and stuff in this part of the woods. It's controlled."
"How would you know? You don't know," Mercedes protested, turning on him. "You can't be sure of that, Sam! That's just what they say," she said, before turning back to the darkness around her. Sam wondered who the 'they' she was referring to could possibly be, but kept the thought silent as she rambled on.
"A bear isn't gonna give a crap about boundaries, okay? It's just gonna look over a boundary and say, 'Oh, what a tasty looking human,' and hop right on over," Mercedes informed him.
"Bears don't eat people, babe. That's just a misconception. They only attack people if they feel threatened," Sam replied.
"As reassuring as that is," Mercedes said rolling her eyes at her husband, "it's still not gonna get me off guard," she finished, clearly anything but reassured. "No, sir. I'm gonna see it coming and bust its nose."
"Your plan is to bust a bear in the nose," Sam said, simply clarifying, as he walked up behind her. He smirked as he took in his wife's petite stature, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder. "I hope it's a small bear," he said with a quiet laugh before turning his face into her and kissing her neck.
At that, Mercedes pulled away from her husband, turned glaring eyes onto him, and did the most mature thing she could think to do. Sam laughed outright, shaking his head, as her pink tongue poked out at him. Moments later she was back staring into the woods, mumbling to herself. Sam shook his head again, smiling a bit as he walked away from her. She was adorable, even when she was being crazy.
She was clearly a lost cause and Sam left her to her rambling, turning his attention back to Cameron, who'd now sunk onto the ground, and was frantically searching through his backpack. His expression grew more panicked with every passing second.
"Already got that one," Sam said with a small laugh, holding up the back-up cellphone he'd fished out of Cameron's bag earlier. "Nice try."
Cameron looked up at his father, flabbergasted. He struggled to find his words for a moment, his mouth hanging agape, before he caught himself and settled on, "You're evil."
Sam laughed at the pout on Cameron's face before walking away to check on Lilliana. She sat, quietly humming, by the campfire they'd set up outside their tents earlier.
Sam chuckled as he thought back to that ordeal. The soccer pitch was as outdoorsy as Cameron got. He was clearly out of his element in the wooded area and it'd showed when Sam had enlisted his help to set up the tents.
Cameron's work building his and Lilly's tent had more closely resembled a rundown tepee before his little sister had helped him out with spacing.
When he'd finally managed to get the tent set up, Sam had sent him off with Lilly to collect firewood in the surrounding area. Cameron had returned not two minutes late, hauling his sister in his arms—not a bit of firewood in sight.
"He saw a raccoon," Lilliana had explained at Sam's questioning look. She'd then suggested that Cameron stay behind with Mercedes, while she and Sam went off for the firewood. The seven-year old was proving to have inherited Sam's fondness of the outdoors—as well as his skill. They'd gone off after that, leaving Cam and Mercedes to cower in one of the tents until they got back.
Lilly sat patiently, now, waiting for some help to roast a marshmallow. He smiled and headed over to her, ruffling her curls as he sat next to her and spiked his own marshmallow.
"You're having fun, right, Lil?" he asked, and chuckled at Lilliana's enthusiastic nod. He was glad, since this whole excursion into the woods was initially for her.
"I can't wait to go exploring tomorrow," Lilliana answered eagerly. She'd been learning about rocks and soil at school. Since then, geology had been her latest calling in life. It was certainly a step up from the time she'd wanted to be a unicorn—he'd always told her she could be anything she wanted to be, and she'd taken it literally—so, Sam had promised her a nature walk to make some observations.
Finally, someone who gets it, Sam thought, at her answer. He put his arm around his little girl, pulled her close, and dropped a kiss to her temple.
A branch snapped somewhere behind them and Mercedes ruined the moment. "What was that?" she asked running to where they sat. She held onto Sam's arm in fear. Lilly looked at her mother's expression curiously.
"It was probably just a squirrel, 'Cede," Sam said, waving her off.
It'd been the wrong thing to say. Mercedes eyes popped wide and Sam got ready for the impending storm.
"There are squirrels out here?" she asked, practically screeching the question. Sam could see her starting to lose it and gave her credit that she'd kept it together this long. "I thought you just said it was controlled!" She smacked Sam's arm.
"It is," Sam replied, leaning away from her. "For, like, bears and the big stuff, but a squirrel isn't exactly a life-threatening predator."
"Oh, yes they are!" Mercedes countered. "They're intruders," she reminded him. "They break into your home and eat your food and crawl over you."
"To be fair, Lilly let that one in," Sam told her. Lilly looked at them, confused and shook her head. She clearly didn't remember the havoc she'd caused that day wanting to play with the 'scurrworl'.
"It still ate our bread," Mercedes replied with the surliest expression Sam had ever seen. He wanted to laugh, but decided against it as she continued. "And it broke our dishes."
"You broke our dishes," Sam countered. "You threw your shoes at it."
"It was in my house," Mercedes replied, angrily. "Whose side are you on?" Her expression had Sam tucking in his lips and looking away from her. His wife was certainly past being calm at the moment. Any further discussion from him would not end well.
Sam was actually glad when Cameron walked over and started to speak, even as he rolled his eyes at his son's tone and demeanor.
"People do this for fun?" Cameron said, dropping himself onto a nearby log. His expression was a mixture of genuine confusion and forlorn resignation. "Like, it's a thing? You come sit in some dark wooded area with no electricity and just stare at each other and wait for animals to attack you?"
Sam couldn't help but laugh at his son. "Yes—essentially, minus the animal attacks," he replied. "But, it's more than that. It teaches you to live off the land—with just your necessities. You don't have to worry about the outside world stuff," he finished.
"You just have to worry about bears trying to eat you," Cameron supplied dryly, nodding at his mom. Mercedes nodded back and Sam rolled his eyes while Lilliana leaned against him, munching on a marshmallow.
"Bears eat honey," she told Cameron, idly.
"And unsuspecting campers," Cameron added. "Serves us right, too, because, when you think about it—just what are we doing out here, again?"
"You're one with nature, just like God intended," Sam supplied. "No outside influences."
"You're the one snatching cellphones, not God," Cameron accused, staring at his father. Mercedes giggled at that and Sam just shook his head.
"Just sayin'," Cameron said, pulling his hair up and tying it into a messy bun. "We could have gone with my idea and we wouldn't have to deal with potential bear attacks," he finished.
"Or White Walkers," Mercedes added, suddenly side-eyeing the woods again.
Cameron nodded at the suggestion. "Or those."
"White Walkers? Really, babe?" Sam said, laughing outright now. "This is California, not Beyond the Wall."
"It's October," Mercedes supplied. "Winter is coming." At that, even she let out a small laugh at herself and Sam huffed out a laugh and teasingly checked her with his shoulder.
"Y'all are crazy," he said.
"You want to sit on some logs, sleep on the ground, get bitten up by bugs, and chance an animal attack instead of sitting in the comfort of your own living room, but we're the crazy ones," Cameron said sarcastically. "Okay."
He had no time at all to defend against the marshmallow his dad threw at his head.
"Hey," Cameron protested. "The violence isn't necessary." Sam rolled his eyes, before looking up at the night sky, while Mercedes laughed and shook her head.
"Isn't this nice, though?" Sam said after a moment, smiling widely at his family. He put his arm around Lilliana and the little girl's smile mirrored his as she nodded.
Mercedes and Cameron, however, were another story entirely. One look at their frowns told Sam all he needed to know. His smile fell into a look of disbelief. "Come on," he prompted. "I mean, I know it's not your thing, but, baby, look at the stars! And Cam, the river's right there. We'll get to do some kayaking tomorrow! It'll be great!"
Cameron stared back at his father blankly, clearly not sharing the enthusiasm and Mercedes just looked to Sam skeptically. "We get to be out here together," Sam insisted. "Just the four of us—no work, no school—," Sam started.
"No electricity, no indoor plumbing," Cameron supplied, making his mother laugh while Sam rolled his eyes again. They'd taught that boy to speak and he'd been using it against them ever since.
"Not quite where I was headed with that thought," Sam said, dryly. "It's going to be fun. You have to give it a chance," Sam told them.
"I don't see why we couldn't have just gone with my idea," Cameron said.
"Because the backyard, as much as I love it, isn't my definition of the great outdoors," Sam answered.
"Why not?" Mercedes asked, and Sam turned to her like she'd betrayed him, "It's outside. It's got fresh air. It's got a stellar view of the city. It's well lit and fenced in, so, no bear issues."
"It's got a pool," Cameron picked up, "and a conveniently located house—and, wait for it, it's got wifi, electrical outlets, and a bathroom that flushes and does not double as a bacteria-infested shack."
"It's also got distractions," Sam argued, "and things that take away from this family time. I just want to spend a little time with y'all, just us—and help Lilly out with school to boot. Just give it a chance," he pleaded. He really wanted this.
They'd always been a close knit family, and would always be, but things had changed a bit from what they'd been. Cameron had started his first year of college that year. Though he'd opted to still live at home that first year while he attended school, he was still off with his friends a lot of the time and busy with other things. Lilliana was getting more independent everyday, making friends at school, developing new interests that took her out of the house—her cooking classes, her dance lessons, and playdates with friends from school. He and Mercedes were enjoying great successes in their careers, but that came at the price of their time as well. He just wanted this, a time for them to enjoy each other without all the extra stuff—just for the weekend. He explained as much to them.
He was happy to see their faces soften after that, each of them resigned to the situation and willing to endure it for him—because he wanted them to, because he always bent over backwards to be there for everything they wanted and needed, and this had been his only real request in years—besides all the sci-fi and comic conventions, but Cam went to those willingly.
Sam smiled as he watched Cameron sigh and move closer to his sister, lifting the little girl up away from their dad and pulling her into his lap. He proudly told Lilly he would teach her to make a s'more and Lilly couldn't have been more excited.
As they started their idle chatter about the best way to roast a marshmallow, Sam looked at Mercedes just as she cast a hesitant look to the dark area surrounding them. "There's nothing out there but park rangers and other campers. Just relax," he said wrapping his arms around her.
"Easy for you to say, Tennessee," she teased.
"Oh, like people don't go camping in Ohio," Sam said softly, nudging her.
"Not my people," she informed him. "You've been there. Barbecuing is as outdoors as my family gets. Maybe apple picking and the pumpkin patch when the mood strikes. If ever there was a Jones in the woods, trust they didn't end up there on purpose."
"You're an Evans, now," he reminded her.
"Clearly," she said nodding to the wooded area around her. "I still can't believe you talked me into coming out here."
"It only took over 20 years," he teased. "Thank you for coming, even with your great fear of the bears," Sam said earnestly. "It means a lot. I'll protect you," he said, pressing his lips softly to hers.
"Yeah? How?" Mercedes asked.
"Well, I'm gonna take a page from your book," he informed her. "I'm gonna bust its nose, of course," Sam replied with a straight face. He fell into a chuckle when Mercedes tried to push him away, but wrapped his arms around her and held her close.
They were pulled out of their moment seconds later when Cameron screamed and Lilly burst into tear-inducing giggles. Mercedes turned, fully expecting the long-awaited bear attack, but only found Cameron holding on to a stick alight with a marshmallow he'd managed to set on fire.
He shrieked shortly before throwing the stick onto the burning logs while Lilliana leaned back against his shoulder covering chocolate-filled mouth as she laughed.
Clearly, the s'more making lessons had taken a turn for the worst. Sam shook his head as he watched the scene before him. This was only a couple hours in, he couldn't wait for the drama that would surely ensue from the rest of their weekend.
A/N: This was a prompt from tumblr. It wasn't exactly like this, but this is what my brain came up with. Mind you, I've never in life been camping, I have no inclination to do so, so I have no idea if half the things I was writing about actually go on lol. So, to the requester, I hope you like it and I hope every else will enjoy it as well. Please review! They really are encouraging and make me want to keep writing! Until next time! :)