"Do you want to swim?" Jimmy asked Rachel as they sat by the pool at the villa, everyone had changed into clean swimwear and reapplied their suncream before heading outside.

"Do you really think I can do it on my own?" she asked nervously.

"I do" Jimmy nodded, "how about I keep my hands under you like usual, but not quite touching you, you can give it a go and see how far you get, it doesn't matter if you only manage a few seconds, we can just see what happens."

"And you'll be there?"

"Of course" he nodded again, "I'll be right with you, like I have been every other time, and you said your Mom was going to join us?" Rachel nodded, "if you don't feel ready then that's okay Rach, we can just practice like we have been doing until you are ready."

"No" Rachel made up her mind, "I, I want to try it."

As promised, Shelby joined them in the pool and Rachel was able to feel the movement of the water under her stomach as Jimmy kept his hands as close as he could to her without actually touching her, but she tried to block it all out, focusing on nothing but the repetitive movements of her limbs as she tried to remember everything her Uncle had taught her, eyes fixed on the side of the pool. It seemed like only a second or two had passed when Rachel was broken from her thoughts by Max excitedly telling her, "you're nearly there Rachel, you can do it!"

And she did. Everyone cheering as she clutched at the side of the pool with her fingertips, feeling Jim's hands on her waist to support her as she stood up, a look of disbelief on her face as she turned to look at the opposite side of the pool, unable to believe she'd done it, "I did it!"

"You sure did Baby" Shelby beamed, kissing Rachel's temple, "well done!"

Rachel accepted a hug from her Mom before turning quickly and wrapping her arms around Jimmy without a thought, "thank you" she said as he returned her hug, "thank you so much." To Rachel it was such a small thing but at the same time it meant the world to her that her Uncle hadn't let her down, that he'd told her he'd teach her to swim and he had.

"You did all the hard work Rach. You already had the skill, I just helped fine tune your technique a little. You put in all the effort."

"You said you'd teach me" Rachel whispered, "and you did."

"I did" Jimmy smiled, Rachel still hugging him, "and we can go to the pool when we get home if you want, keep practicing until you get stronger and more confident."

Rachel nodded, "I'd like that, thank you."

The family all played in the pool for a while, Max high fiving Rachel in congratulations before asking for help to climb onto the inflatable shark Amy had bought him, Lily already bobbing around the pool on an inflatable unicorn float.

After swimming for a while they all got out of the pool, the adults sitting out in the sun as Lily and Max played with a soccer ball together. "Mommy" Max walked over to Amy, a frown on his face as he told her, "my tummy hurts."

Amy frowned and lifted her son onto her lap, listening to him breathing for a moment before asking, "do you feel sick?" she knew a 'tummy ache' was sometimes Max's way of explaining that his chest felt tight and he was struggling to breathe. Max shook his head, "you sound a little bit wheezy" she told him as she ran her hand through his curls, "shall we get Daddy to fetch your inhaler and see if that makes you feel a bit better?"

"Okay" Max nodded.

"Jim, can you…" Amy turned to her husband who'd heard her conversation with their son and was already on his way inside.

"On it."

Amy saw the worry on Max's face and knew she had to keep calm, if she panicked then he would too and that would just make things worse. "You're okay" she told him, "you don't need to be worried."

"What if I need to see the doctor to make me better?" Max asked.

"Then we'll go to a doctor" Amy said as she gently stroked his cheek, "but you don't always need to see the doctor do you? You've been running around at the beach all morning and then you walked nearly all the way back, you've been splashing in the pool and playing soccer with Lily so let's give you your inhaler and sit quietly for a little while and see how you feel."

"Okay."

"You don't need to worry Max" Amy kissed his forehead, "I'd never let anything bad happen to you, if I thought you were so sick you needed a doctor we'd be going right away."

"Okay Mommy" Max shuffled so he could lay against Amy, wrapping his arms around her and allowing her to hug him tightly.

"Daddy" Lily made her way over to Jimmy as Amy helped Max with his inhaler, "is Maxy sick?" she asked.

Jimmy knew Lily was a little scared, so he was quick to scoop her into his arms, "he needs to take his medicine, and then he'll be just fine, but he won't be running around for a little while, he'll need to sit down and be calm."

Lily nodded, "you want colour with me Maxy?" she asked her brother. Max couldn't respond verbally but he gave his sister a thumbs up in response to her question causing Amy to chuckle and kiss his hair as he sat between her legs. "You help me get colours and pictures Daddy?"

"Sure" Jimmy stood with Lily in his arms, "yell if you need me" he told Amy as he headed inside.

"There we go" Amy said as she finished counting for Max to breathe, "we'll give it a minute and then do it again and see how you go."

"Okay" Max sat back against Amy, trusting his Mommy completely.

Once he'd used his inhaler again Max sat with Amy for a while as Lily and Jimmy coloured together, Amy wanting her son to stay with her for a little while so she could be sure his breathing wasn't getting any worse. "Are you feeling better now?" she asked him after they'd sat quietly for a while, Amy gently running her fingers through her son's curls.

Max nodded, "my tummy still hurts a little bit but it's getting better."

"Okay, do you want to go and colour with Lily?" Max nodded and Amy kissed his hair, "go on then, but you have to tell me or Daddy or Auntie Lelly if it starts to hurt again okay?"

"Okay Mommy" Max nodded, "I'm going to do you a really nice picture" he promised.

Amy smiled, "I look forward to seeing it" she watched as Max walked over to the table, Jimmy lifting his son onto his lap so he could colour with Lily before turning to her sister and niece.

"Are you okay?" Shelby asked, knowing Amy would be worried about Max.

Amy nodded and gently ran her hand over her stomach, "yeah, he's not wheezing any more and he's with Jimmy, he's okay."

"Good" Shelby smiled before asking her sister, "is Rachel asleep ?" the teen was laid between her Mom and her Aunt, but she'd turned into her side with her back to Shelby a while ago.

Amy nodded and smiled, "fast on. Did she sleep okay last night?"

"Yeah, at least she didn't wake me if she didn't, but she seemed okay this morning and we spoke about a few things when we walked along the beach, she didn't say anything about not sleeping so I think she's okay."

"Good. You know you're the best thing that's happened to that girl Shel."

"We are" Shelby corrected her, "she's part of a family that has loved and accepted her since the day they met her, it hasn't just been me."

Amy rolled her eyes, "It's been mostly you. You've been the one that's been by her side, you were the one who made her comfortable enough to feel able to meet our family, and not just one at a time, because of you she was comfortable enough to be thrown into the middle of Christmas with everyone, you gave her the confidence to admit when she was feeling overwhelmed. I don't care what you say, she's the girl she is today because of you."

"You've always been stubborn."

"I know" Amy grinned, "My big sister was a great teacher."

Rachel slept for almost two hours, rolling onto her back and tipping her head towards Shelby, giving her a sleepy smile as she woke. "Hey Baby" Shelby smiled, "good nap?"

"Mhmm" Rachel stretched her back, "I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"It's okay, nobody minds you taking a nap, you're on vacation! I was just about to get in the pool to cool off a little, want to join me?"

Rachel nodded and stood to her feet, "sure."

Shelby didn't go right into the pool, choosing instead to sit down on one of the wide steps, the water only coming up to her stomach. She smiled when Rachel sat down beside her, instantly putting her arm around her daughter's waist and pulling her close, Rachel's head falling onto Shelby's shoulder, still not completely awake. "Is there anywhere in particular you'd like to go for dinner tonight?" Shelby asked.

"I don't mind" Rachel shrugged, "Max likes pizza."

"I know he does" Shelby said softly, "but I asked if there was anything you wanted?"

"Nothing specific" Rachel shrugged, "maybe we could try one of the places near the mall instead of walking down the beach so we don't have to carry Lily and Max back up the hill."

Shelby laughed, "I like your thinking, but we can get a cab if we need to."

"I don't mind Mom" Rachel said honestly, "I'll eat wherever."

"Okay" Shelby kissed Rachel's hair and decided not to push it any further, "do you want to get in further or are you okay sitting here?"

Rachel bit her lip before looking up at Shelby, "could you help me try and swim across the pool again?"

"Sure" Shelby stood to her feet and held out her hand to Rachel, "don't push yourself though, if you need to stop then you can."

"I know" Rachel nodded, "but I want to try."

Rachel was in the bathroom, Shelby adding the final touches to her makeup when there was a gentle knock on the bedroom door later that evening, Amy stepping into the room after Shelby called her in, "the kids are ready when you are."

"Okay" Shelby smiled, "we'll be five minutes." Amy lingered in the room and Shelby knew there was something on her sister's mind. "What's wrong?" she asked as she stood and walked over to her, taking Amy's hand in her own, gently stroking her thumb over the back of her sisters hand.

"Will you call me if Max needs to use his inhaler again?" Amy asked nervously .

Shelby gently cupped Amy's cheek with her free hand, "of course I will, I know how to use it if he needs it, I know when it isn't working and he needs to see a doctor. And I know he needs to use his brown inhaler before he goes to bed. I know you're worried Amy but he's been fine since this afternoon, I know if you thought he was still struggling, you wouldn't even be thinking about going out tonight. Try and forget about the kids and just focus on having a good time with your husband."

Amy nodded, "I know, and I trust you with them more than I trust anyone else." Shelby had been the first, and for a while, the only, person that Amy had trusted to take care of Max when he was a baby. "And thank you for doing this, Jimmy and I both really appreciate it."

Shelby waved her hand dismissively, "you know I'll watch them any time, now, don't you need to get ready?" she raised an eyebrow. Amy's hair was still tied back in a messy ponytail and she just had one of Jimmy's tshirts on over her bikini.

Amy smirked, "we erm, we aren't going to go out right away"

"You…" Shelby suddenly realised what her sister was telling her, "I guess I should be glad you're waiting until we've gone out."

Amy laughed and patted Shelby's arm, "we've been here over a week Shel, do you really think this is going to be the first time we've had sex since we got here?"

Shelby frowned, "you let my daughter nap in that bed, you let me sit in that bed…"

"Relax Shelby, we didn't… there's no lock on the bedroom door, our bathroom in the other hand…"

"I suppose I should just be grateful you've learnt to lock doors now" Shelby rolled her eyes before leaning in to kiss her sister's cheek, "but you two enjoy yourselves, don't worry about the kids, they'll be fine. I promise."

The kids were fine, they loved spending time with their aunt and cousin, and, just to reassure Amy, Shelby sent her a text a little after 9pm, 'Both kids fast asleep, they've been as good as gold and Max hasn't had any issues so you can stop worrying and focus on enjoying yourself xx'

Rachel and Shelby were sat out on the patio doing a crossword together when Amy and Jim came back. "We're just going to dry off and then we'll come out and join you" Amy smiled as she poked her head out of the patio doors.

"Dry off?" Shelby frowned, "why are you… actually" she shook her head, "I don't want to know."

"Rachel, don't listen to this" Amy told her niece before telling Shelby, "we may or may not have gone skinny dipping on the way home" with a smirk.

"Skinny dipping? What if someone had seen you, what if…"

"Relax Shel, we found a nudist beach, there were a couple of other people there and..." she shrugged vaguely.

"You found a nudist beach" Shelby rolled her eyes and shook her head again, "of course you did."

"Let me dry off and I'll tell you all about it" Amy teased, winking playfully at her sister before going to get changed.