"Camping?!" Dani, asked incredulously. "You're taking me camping?! This is your big plan?"

"Yes, Poppins, and I didn't even want to tell you that much. But, I need you to pack appropriately," Jamie replied.

"If you are making me camp, we are at least making s'mores. It's non-negotiable," Dani said, flustered.

"What's a s'more?"

"Oh my God," Dani said, throwing up her hands and walking away.

"What?" A bemused Jamie yelled after her.

Owen and Hannah took Jamie's truck as a diversion. They had to assume Edmund was always watching. It was nightfall, so they hoped the shadows would conceal their identities. Meanwhile, Jamie and Dani snuck out the back of the pub and loaded their stuff into Owen's car. They both climbed into the front seat.

"You ready, Poppins?"

"Yeah. You know I'll go anywhere with you."

It was dark, but Dani could still see the smile her comment elicited. She loved making Jamie smile. And, it was more important to her now than ever.

Dani could feel Jamie's tension as they drove out of the city. There were too many eyes, too great a probability that Edmund was watching. Jamie got fidgety every time they came to a stop at a traffic light.

"Hey," Dani said gently, offering her hand across the bench seat. Jamie took her hand without hesitating, which made Dani smile. Dani rubbed the back of Jamie's hand with her thumb while she drove. It seemed to help calm her.

Once they were out of the city and on country roads, Jamie began to relax. She could clearly see that they were not being followed. They had successfully made their escape. The darkness was so complete outside of the city. To some people, it would be scary, but to Jamie in this moment, it felt peaceful. She was in a car with the woman she loved and there was not another soul around for miles.

"How long until we get there?" Dani asked next to her.

"Probably another hour or so," Jamie replied. "If you want to sleep or anything, that's okay with me."

"No way. If you're awake, I'm awake," Dani said resolutely.

Jamie smiled. She smiled even bigger when Dani scooted closer to her. Jamie made a mental note to thank Owen again for the use of his car. It was better suited for this than her truck. Dani was now laying her head on Jamie's shoulder while she drove, Dani's right hand draped lazily on Jamie's thigh.

"Is this okay?" Dani asked, suddenly unsure.

"Bit distracting and a little unfair since I have to keep my hands on the wheel. But yeah, Poppins, it's more than okay with me."

Dani giggled and nuzzled into Jamie's neck, breathing her in. Jamie's was the most comforting scent in all the world to Dani.

"Just don't be getting too handsy though. I'd like to not wreck Owen's car," Jamie playfully teased.

Dani moved her hand a little further down Jamie's thigh, closer to her knee. Better to be on the safe side, Dani laughed to herself, smirking.

They drove in a comfortable silence the rest of the way to the campground. They were truly in the middle of nowhere and it was getting late. Jamie parked close to the spot where they would be camping for the weekend. Even in the moonlight, Dani could see it was beautiful. They were surrounded on almost all sides by trees, except for the side that faced a vast, serene lake.

"Wow," Dani said, in awe.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

"How did you find this place?"

"Came here as a kid once. Before things, well, you know. Thought you might fancy it as well."

"Thank you for bringing me here, Jamie. It's so peaceful. And here I thought you were bringing me out in the woods to kill me," Dani joked.

"Very funny, Poppins," Jamie replied, unamused.

"But, uh, one question— where are we sleeping?"

"Oh, we've got to pitch the tent. You've pitched a tent before, right Poppins?" Jamie knew that she hadn't.

Dani gulped. "Oh boy."

"Not to worry. Just a little pop up tent."

An hour later, they finally got the "little pop up tent" popped up.

"Whew, who knew this here tent would be a greater obstacle in our relationship than Eddie?" Jamie teased.

Dani laughed her adorable awkward laugh, and Jamie walked over and kissed her. God, she loved that laugh.

"Well, if we can survive this, we can survive anything!" Dani agreed.

"Agreed. Well, what do you say we hit the sack? We can take in the sights in the morning," Jamie said, unzipping the front of the tent and tossing in their bedding.

"Whoa, wait a minute," Dani said.

Jamie looked concerned. "What?"

"We're not in two separate sleeping bags, are we?!" Dani was not having it.

Jamie snickered. "Not to worry, Poppins. I bought a new one just for this excursion. It sleeps two people, if you fancy joining me, that is. I also got us some nice sleeping mats so the ground won't be too hard."

"Awww Jamie, you thought of everything. I really love you, you know."

"I love you, too, Dani. Now, get in the tent! I'm cold!"

Dani laughed and Jamie shooed her in, zipping up the tent from the inside. They got to work arranging everything just right.

"This is so cozy. I love it," Dani said.

"I'm glad. And, it should be just cold enough that the snakes have gone to ground, so hopefully we won't be having any visitors," Jamie said, knowing she was about to get a reaction.

"What?" Dani said, horrified, not even having considered the wildlife.

"Don't worry, Poppins. I'm not scared of 'em. I'll protect you."

"I have no doubt of that," Dani said with certainty, sliding into the sleeping bag next to Jamie and zipping them up tight. It was nice and warm next to Jamie. She sighed contentedly and turned over to pull Jamie closer to her. Jamie winced.

"Jamie! I'm so sorry! I forgot!"

"It's okay, Dani. Just still a bit sore from the car." Jamie felt bad for making Dani worry.

"I just really want to hold you. Is there any way that would be comfortable for you?"

"Yeah, let me just shift to my good side," Jamie said, turning over to face Dani. "There we go."

Dani was laying on her back and Jamie curled into her side, resting her head on Dani's shoulder and placing her hand on Dani's stomach. Dani put a tentative arm around Jamie's shoulder.

"That's perfect," Jamie said before Dani could even ask. Dani brought her other hand to Jamie's forearm, lightly rubbing up and down. She heard Jamie sigh.

"So, when are you going to tell me what we're really doing out here? Dani whispered.

"Tomorrow," Jamie said.

Dani opened her mouth to say something else, but Jamie was already asleep.

The sun woke them up long before they were ready. Both women groaned, still sleepy. They were a tangle of arms and legs. It was hard to tell where one ended and the other began. But that was how they liked it. Although neither said it, both wished to wake up this way forever.

"I hope you brought breakfast, Jamie, because I'm starving," Dani complained.

"Good morning to you, too, Sunshine," Jamie responded sarcastically.

Dani took her pillow and playfully swatted Jamie's face.

"Yeah, I've got all our food for the weekend in the car," Jamie said, starting to sit up.

"Nooooooo," Dani said, pulling Jamie back down next to her.

"You're sending me some mixed messages here, Poppins. 'Go make breakfast, Jamie.' 'No, don't get up, Jamie,'" she said, trying her best to imitate Dani's American accent.

"That's not what I sound like!" Dani whined. "Fine, go make breakfast," she huffed.

Jamie leaned down and kissed her, a soft gentle kiss, before getting up and heading towards the car.

After breakfast, they sat in silence, looking out over the lake.

"Ok, Dani, it's time for me to be honest about why I brought you out here. It's not just for us to have a relaxing time, although that is a benefit to be sure. I don't think you're going to like this, but it's important to me. I need to know that I've done everything I can to keep you safe."

"Okaaaaay," Dani said, nervous.

Jamie reached into her duffle bag and produced a box. She handed it to Dani, who tentatively accepted it. She nodded at her to open it. Dani opened the box and everything instantly made sense. She also hated it. It made sense and she hated it. And she hated that this is what it had come to. That this was what Jamie thought was necessary to keep her safe. Because, in the box…was a gun. A 9mm handgun.

"Jamie—"

"Hear me out, Dani. I can't be with you all the time. As much as I want to be, I can't. I know this isn't something you're going to be comfortable with, but it would make me feel a lot better if you kept this with you in your purse, just in case." Jamie's voice was pleading. "I brought you out here so I could teach you to use it."

Dani's mind was racing. "Where did you even get this?"

"It's mine. I've had it for years. It's been on the top shelf of the closet. But now I think you should have it, at least for now. Please, Dani."

"Do you really think it will come to this?" Dani asked, her voice small. She couldn't imagine using the gun.

"I don't know, and that's what scares me. I just want to be prepared."

"Do you have any other guns I should know about?"

"I mean, just the shotgun under the bed," Jamie said sheepishly.

"There's a shotgun under the bed?! OUR bed?!" Dani exclaimed.

"Yeah. I call her Jolene. You're telling me you've never looked under the bed? Poppins, I'm disappointed," Jamie tutted, trying to lighten the mood.

"Well, you certainly are full of surprises," Dani said, staring down at the gun in her hands.

"At least learn to shoot it. What you do after that is up to you. Okay, Dani?"

"This is important to you, isn't it?"

"Yeah, Dani, it is."

"Ok, for you… I'll do it. But, for the record, I don't like this."

"Good. And, for the record, neither do I."

Jamie extended her hand to Dani, who readily took it and squeezed. There was a lot they wanted to say, so many fears between them, but instead they said nothing and yet perfectly understood the other.

"Alright then, let's get started," Jamie said.

Jamie set up a variety of targets for Dani on her own makeshift range. She nailed a couple paper targets to tree trunks and propped up a few cans on some of the lower branches.

"Ok, watch how I do it first, and I'll talk you through what I'm doing. Then I'll give you a crack at it, yeah?"

Dani nodded nervously.

Jamie widened her stance and squared her shoulders. She held the gun in her right hand and used her left to brace it. She closed one eye, lined up her shot, and squeezed the trigger. She went from target to target, hitting each one in the center. She hit four of the five cans, as well.

"Show off," Dani muttered. She was also pretty impressed. She had no idea her girlfriend had this particular skill set. And, if she was being honest with herself, it was hot.

"Dani? Hello? Earth to Dani?"

"Oops, sorry!"

"Get distracted, did you?"

"Yeah, you could say that," Dani giggled. "I think maybe it would be helpful if you show me again." She was smirking now and trying not to look at Jamie in the eye.

"Oh, I see what's going on here, Poppins," Jamie said, smirking right back. "But let's focus on the task at hand, shall we?"

"Ok, I guess I'll try."

Jamie handed Dani the gun, showing her the safety and how to hold it. She then instructed her to line up her first shot.

Dani missed by a mile. Again. And again. She did not hit any of the targets. She turned around and looked at Jamie sheepishly. Jamie was frowning.

"I'm sorry. I guess I'm not very good at this."

"It just takes practice, is all. Here, can I help you?"

"Please."

Jamie stood behind Dani. She put her hand on Dani's waist and pulled her flush against her body.

"Oh," Dani gasped.

"This is purely educational, Poppins," Jamie whispered in her ear. But Dani knew that Jamie knew exactly what she was doing.

Jamie put her hands on Dani's hips, positioning her in just the stance she wanted. She then moved her hands to Dani's shoulders and then down her arms, bringing them up to a shooting position. Her head was right behind Dani's shoulder and she was whispering directly in her ear.

"Now you just bring the gun up like this," she whispered, holding Dani's hands that were holding the gun. "And you line up your shot like this. See?"

"Mmhmm," Dani said, trying her best to concentrate but really only thinking about how many places Jamie's body was touching her's right now.

"And then you just give the trigger a gentle little squeeze. Go ahead."

Dani pulled the trigger. Bullseye.

"I hit it!" Dani exclaimed, feeling very proud.

"Very good, Poppins," Jamie said, kissing her neck.

"I think you're a very good teacher," Dani said, feeling weak.

"Like my teaching style, do you?"

"You know what you're doing to me." Dani said, calling her out.

"Aye. And it's working. Let's keep going."

With Jamie standing behind her and guiding her, Dani could hit every target. When Jamie stepped away, Dani struggled. Every now and then she could hit the paper targets on the trees, but she could never hit the cans. They had been at it most of the day, but eventually they both had to accept the truth— Dani was really bad at this.

"This is as bad as my tea skills, isn't it?" Dani asked, already knowing the answer.

"You couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, I'm afraid," Jamie admitted.

"I told you this was a bad idea."

"I still think it was better to do this than not. You are better now than when we started."

"That's a low bar, Jamie, and you know it."

Jamie threw an arm around Dani's shoulders. "Let's just head back to camp and make the most of the rest of our weekend."

Later that night, once it was dark, Jamie made a bonfire.

"Alright, I built your fire. Let's try these s'mores that you keep going on about," Jamie said.

Dani retrieved the supplies she had brought— graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows. She put some marshmallows on skewers— one each for her and Jamie. Jamie was watching with interest. She handed Jamie a skewer loaded with big, fluffy marshmallows.

"See, you just want to lightly toast them in the fire like this," Dani said, holding her own skewer in the fire.

Jamie did the same with her's. Once Dani was satisfied that the marshmallows were the "appropriate amount of gooey," she showed Jamie how to build her s'more.

"I really can't believe you've never had these," Dani said.

"I swear I haven't," Jamie said, biting into her first s'more. The marshmallow ran down her chin, but she was smiling. "Ok, Poppins, I have to admit, this is really good."

"Yay!" Dani said, clearly proud of herself. She noticed the marshmallow on Jamie's face and leaned in to kiss her. "In America, if your girlfriend gets s'mores on her face, it has to be kissed off. It's tradition."

"You just made that last bit up, Dani. You're shameless. You don't need to be making up new American 'traditions' to kiss me."

They both laughed. And kissed. And laughed some more. And they ate way too many s'mores.

"Poppins, I'm stuffed! I think I overdid it on these things," Jamie complained.

"Right?! See, I knew you would love them," Dani said, beaming. "I wish we didn't have to go back tomorrow," she said, suddenly serious. "It's perfect out here. Just me and you."

"I know. I feel the same, Dani," Jamie replied, a hint of sadness in her voice, not knowing what awaited them back in London.

They drove back the next afternoon, both of their moods somber. They tried not to spend all of their time talking about their current Edmund predicament but it was always hanging over their heads nonetheless. Although they almost always had to be touching anyway, it became a constant need for both of them, clinging to each other every chance they got. They dreaded Monday when they would both have to go to their separate jobs. They discussed extensively how Dani would get to work (Jamie would take her), how she would get home (Henry would drop her off because Jamie had to work a little late), where Edmund might try to watch from, etc. They both slept restlessly that night, to the point that they finally put a movie in and eventually fell asleep to that.

They hugged for a long time the next morning before they went outside to the truck.

"What time do you think you'll be home tonight?" Dani asked.

"I should be home by 7:00," Jamie told her.

"I'll have dinner ready when you get home. Is there anything special you'd like?"

"Anything you make me is special, Poppins."

Dani smiled. "What about tacos?"

"Yeah, tacos sound brilliant," Jamie said, already looking forward to them.

"Great. It's a date then," Dani said, already missing Jamie and counting down the minutes until they would be together again.

Jamie dropped her off at work and kissed her goodbye. Miles and Flora ran outside to say hello and Jamie waved enthusiastically at them. They each took one of Dani's hands and led her inside. Dani glanced back over her shoulder and smiled at Jamie, who winked back and waved. It was such a perfect moment. Dani wished she could bottle it up and remember it forever.

Jamie's day was busy. She had a steady stream of customers and several weddings she was working on. She was thankful to be busy; it helped her keep her mind off their situation. She still didn't really know what they were going to do about their Edmund problem and it weighed heavily on her. She knew neither of them could live like this forever.

It was finally 6:00 and time for Jamie to close up shop. She had a few things she still needed to tend to, but they would go quickly without the constant interruption of customers. She locked the front door and flipped the sign to CLOSED. The sooner she got these plants taken care of, the sooner she could get home to Dani. And that was all that Jamie could think about.

A sound coming from the back room snapped Jamie's attention back to the present.

"Is someone there?" She called out. "The shop's closed."

She walked towards the back room and peered in. No one was there. My mind is playing tricks on me now, Jamie thought.

"Hello, Jamie," a calm voice said from behind her.

Jamie knew who it was before she even spun around. Edmund.

"It's time now," he said, bringing a heavy flower pot down on her head.

Jamie didn't even have time to react. Her vision blurred and it felt like her head had exploded. Warm blood was running down her face and she fell to her knees. She started crawling away from Edmund, but she was disoriented and he was fast. He reached for her hair and yanked, forcing her to look up at him.

"You and I have unfinished business," he sneered.

"Fuck off," she managed to say.

Jamie's hand reached for whatever she could find on the counter above her. The phone. Lucky break, Jamie thought. She grabbed it and swung as hard as she could towards Edmund's face. She made contact! She didn't have enough strength behind it to really hurt him, but he stumbled backwards just enough to let go of her, the phone receiver dangling off the counter. She started to make a run for the front door.

"Not so fast," Edmund said, pursuing her.

He grabbed Jamie around the waist and pushed her back into the counter. She clawed at his face, drawing blood.

"You bitch!" He screamed. He was losing control.

I have to get away, Jamie thought. But her thoughts were a jumble and her body was responding too slowly. She was hurt and the only wounds she had inflicted on Edmund were superficial. I can't get away, Jamie realized.

Dani's face flashed across her mind, making her determined to fight. She rallied all of her strength and launched herself at Edmund. She somehow managed to jump on his back, wrapping her legs around his waist and trying to choke him from behind. She let out a feral scream. There was no doubt in her mind that she was prepared to kill him.

Edmund stumbled backwards towards a shelf of potted plants and used his body weight to throw Jamie into it. She held on, still squeezing. His vision was starting to narrow. He slammed her into the shelf once more and everything crashed down on them. That was the distraction Edmund needed to flip Jamie off of him.

Jamie was being hurtled through the air and then landed on her back, the wind knocked out of her. Everything hurt. She started to turn on her side to stand up, but she was starting at boots. Edmund's boots. He was standing over her. He brought one boot up and kicked her hard in the stomach. She doubled over, coughing. Jamie made one last attempt to stand up. She barely had time to register the last hit.

Her vision faltered. And Jamie fell, succumbing to the darkness.