Chapter 27: Camping

(Flashback)

"Emily time to get up," Bandit said with a smile. Emily sniffed from crying from the night before. "Oh, Emily what's the matter mate?" Bandit asked, trying to uncover his wife from the covers. "Leave me alone… just go without me," Emily said, trying to keep her covers on. "Emily, babe it's not going to be the same without you," Bandit said still trying to pull the covers off. Emily then started crying. "Why are you crying mate?" Bandit asked, confused. Emily then uncovered herself and looked at her husband. "I got poison oak," Emily said while crying. "Oh Emily," Bandit said while laughing. "See you're laughing at me! Go away!" Emily said as she covered herself in her sleeping bag. "Emily mate I'm not laughing at you I'm laughing with you," Bandit said trying to take the covers off again.

"No! don't touch me or you'll get it too," Emily said trying not to get poison oak on her husband. Bandit finally got the covers off and started kissing his wife. "Bandit, I'm serious! go away! Take our son to the lake," Emily said trying not to smile or laugh. "Bandit!" Emily said while laughing. "Bandit Heeler don't you dare kiss me there! Our son is just a tent away!" Emily said while laughing hard. Emily then screamed from laughter as the tent started moving. "Mom? Dad?" Thomas said from outside of the Large tent. Suddenly everything got quiet. Bandit then opened the tent and looked at his son with a smile. "Morning mate how did you sleep?" Bandit asked trying not to laugh. "Where's mom?" Thomas asked trying to look in the tent. "She'll join us in a minute mate I made some brekky in the pot son just help yourself," Bandit said trying to fight his laughter. "Oh, okay," Thomas said as he went over to the pot and got some breakfast.

Bandit then zipped up the tent and looked at his wife. "Now we're we?" Bandit said giving his wife the puppy dog eyes and ears back. Emily shook her head with a smile. "When did I get so lucky to have you in my life," Emily said with a smile. "Oh I don't know it started when we were teenagers and then In college and right now," Bandit said as he kissed his wife passionately. Bandit then started to tickle his wife some more and kiss her all over to place again. "Stop it you don't want to have our son thinking his parents are gross," Emily said with a chuckle.

(Present day)

It was the first weekend after the beginning of school and the Heeler family had decided to enjoy the summer a little bit more and so decided to go for a camping trip. Bandit was driving his family, with Chilli by his side and his kids at the back, with Thomas being between his sisters. While his sisters were playing with each other, Thomas was consulting his phone. "So, Thomas, are you excited for camping? It's the first time we get to do it ever since you were a kid" Bandit told. But Thomas didn't reply to him, focusing his attention on his phone. "Thomas, sweetie, your dad talked to you," Chilli said in a way that caught his attention. "What?" he asked, a little confused. "What's so interesting in your phone that is distracting you from an awesome weekend with your family?" Bandit asked. "Nothing," Thomas replied, a little defensive, as he put the phone away. "Probably he was talking with his girlfriend," Bluey teased. "No, I wasn't, I don't have a girlfriend!" Thomas replied, even more defensive. "Then who is Tori?" Bingo asked.

"No one…" he replied. "But… how do you know that name?" Thomas asked his little sister. "I heard you talk with her at phone in your room," she told. "Thomas has a girlfriend!" Bluey teased. "I already told you, Bluey, I don't have a girlfriend," Thomas insisted. Bandit and Chilli traded a look with a smile, knowing very well what a behavior like that from a teenager like Thomas meant. "Bluey, stop teasing your brother," Chilli said. After that, it didn't take long for they to get to the camping site. After they arrived, they got out of the car. Bandit stretched himself, taking then a deep breath. "There's nothing like getting out of the city and get some fresh air… What do you think son?" Bandit asked, turning to Thomas, only to find him on his phone again. He went there and then extended his hand to Thomas. "Okay, give it to me," he said. Despite not wanting to, Thomas knew he couldn't contest his father and so he gave the phone to him.

"Remember, we're here for some family time, so you'll spend time with us, not the cellphone," Bandit said. "But, dad, what if any of my friends try to talk to me?" Thomas asked. "Then you can talk to them… after we get back home," Bandit replied. "Come on, mate, don't you remember the times we used to go camping?" he asked. When he said that, Thomas smiled, as he remember those happy moments. "Yeah… I do, we used to have a so much fun," Thomas said. "You know, dad… I've never camped ever since you and mom…" Thomas started. "It's okay, son, it's like riding a bike, why don't we start by helping the girls take everything from the boot?" Bandit asked, who then noticed his son's confused face. "That's the trunk" he clarified. "Right… I knew that," Thomas replied, while going to help his stepmother and sister. Bandit observed him going with a smile, while remembering all the happy memories he had camping with him and Emily.

Thomas then placed down the tent boxes next to his father who was admiring the area. "Yep, this is a fine place to mount the tents," Bandit said. "Did we really need to bring two tents, dad?" Thomas asked. "Well, normally, your mom and I would sleep on the same tent as the girls, but with you here we would be a little tight, so you will sleep with your sisters on one tent, while we, the adults, will sleep on the other," Bandit replied, as Chilli got his side and rubbed her husband's, kissing him on his cheek. "Fine… I just hope 'the adults' don't start tickling each other" Thomas teased. "Thomas!" Bandit said blushing from embarrassment. "Tickling huh?" Chilli said giving Bandit a look. "Um… You know teenagers, they like to mess around, it is nothing…" Bandit said trying to hide his blush. "Why would dad be tickling mum?" Bluey asked, as she and Bingo appeared carrying stuff from the car. "I'll tell you when you're older," Thomas said with a laugh. "Something to do with Emily?" Chilli asked, with a slight smile and a raised eyebrow, crossing her arms. "He was six years old, I thought he wouldn't know better!" Bandit confessed to his wife. Chilli couldn't help but laugh, as she went to help her kids.

After the boys set the tents up, Thomas and Bandit went to go get some firewood. "There's more bugs out here than when we went camping last time," Thomas said while walking and trying to keep the bugs away. "Welcome to Australia, mate, the place where giant bugs live" Bandit while smacking bugs along the way. "So tell me, son, are you seeing Tori or not?" Bandit asked. "Dad, seriously we're just friends," Thomas said as they walked. "I don't know about that, mate, if she's the girl I've seen you with, then it's hard to believe you don't feel anything. She is quite a catch. You know, I started having feelings for your mom when we first met as friends, I was fifteen, she's sixteen, I can even remember how beautiful she was and…" Bandit explained. "Dad! Gross! Seriously!" Thomas shouted smacking some bugs. Bandit laughed as they walked along to find some wood. "Here some wood," Bandit said as he grabbed some wood. "Anything else you want to talk about other than Tori?" Bandit asked teasing his son some more. "Dad I swear!" Thomas shouted as Bandit handed him some wood. "I'm just teasing mate," Bandit said handing him some more wood.

"Then why do we talk about you and mom then?" Thomas asked as they started to walk back to the campsite. "I thought you said it was gross mate?" Bandit teased. "It started being gross when you and mom were doing whatever you doing in the tent when I was six," Thomas said while carrying the wood. Bandit laughed, "In our defense, your mum was having a bad morning. She had poison oak and I had to make her laugh somehow, that's how it worked between us" Bandit explained. "If you guys were so happy then why did you get divorced?" Thomas asked. Bandit then stopped walking and thought about how to answer. Thomas soon realized the impact his question had on his father. "Dad I'm sorry I didn't mean to…" Thomas tried to say but was cut off by his father. "People change, mate, I still love your mother and always will nothing has change of how I feel about her," Bandit explained.

Thomas nodded in response although he wished he knew the whole story since he was very young when his parents got divorced. He didn't understand how his parents, who loved each other so much, could just give up on their marriage. Not only that, but it still felt strange to him about how his father and uncle Rad had a complicated love triangle with his mother that ended with his father winning her heart. He knew the main points of the story, but not the details of it. His dad and uncle always avoided to tell him anything about it. However, he tried to not force it, because he knew how hurtful it was for them. They all returned to their camp site, where Chilli and Bingo had just finished cleaning the area, prepared the pit and had one bucket with sand.

"All right, looks like everything is ready for the fire later," Bandit said. "Wait, where's Bluey?" Thomas asked, looking for his older younger sister. "Oh, she went to the creek to get water… but she did go some time ago," Chilli replied. "I can go get her," Thomas told. And so he went to the creek, where he found Bluey tending to a small tree that seemed to be at least between one to two feet in height. "Oh, look at you, you're growing big and strong, yes you are," she said to the tree, while caressing gently its leaves. "Hey there, Bluey," Thomas said, while approaching his sister. "Thomas, what are you doing here, I thought you went get wood with dad," Bluey replied. "I did and we just came back, why are you taking so long to bring the water?" Thomas asked. "Oh, sorry… I just… got distracted, tending to my tree," Bluey said. "Your tree?" Thomas asked, looking to the small tree. "Yeah, I planted it last time dad, mum, Bingo and I were here with uncle Stripe and his family," Bluey told. "This tree is very precious to me because… it reminds me of a special friend of mine."

Thomas was able to detect some sadness in her voice, so he sat at the other side of tree, facing her. "Do you want to talk about this special friend?" he asked. Bluey looked at his older brother, who was looking at her with his caring look that made her smile. "His name is Jean-Luc, I met him during a game of mine of living in the jungle, I couldn't understand him, he spoke a different language, but it didn't matter to us, we managed to understand each other… in a way, we planted this seed in order to have food to eat in the jungle, but now… it is a token of our friendship," Bluey told. "That sounds… very nice, to have a friend like that," Thomas commented. "We had a lot of fun, we built a house and we chased a wild pig," Bluey said. "Let me guess… it was dad?" Thomas asked, to which Bluey laughed, while nodding. "So, what happened to Jean-Luc?" Thomas asked, a questioned that caused Bluey to get a little sad.

"One morning, when I went to be with him, he wasn't there anymore, he was gone," she said. "Oh, Bluey, I'm sorry…" Thomas said. "It's okay… Mum said that the world is a magical place and that, maybe one day, I can meet him again, do you think she is right?" Bluey asked. "One never knows… maybe," Thomas replied. "I really hope so, I always feel good when I was with Jean-Luc, we would always be smiling and laughing together, we didn't need words to understand each other and I liked that…" Bluey told. "Don't tell me my little sister had a boyfriend," Thomas teased. "Ew, no! Jean-Luc wasn't my boyfriend," Bluey replied. "I'm sorry, Bluey, but the way you talked about him seemed like your friendship was really special," Thomas commented. "What about your friendship with Tori? Is it special like mine with Jean-Luc?" Bluey asked.

When Bluey asked that, Thomas didn't reply right away. The truth was that, despite what he was claiming, he wasn't really sure about what he felt about Tori. She really was a very good friend, but Thomas felt something much more intense. Maybe it was a slight attraction, but he didn't know if he could say he was in love with her. However, he couldn't deny that, what Bluey felt for Jean-Luc was similar to what he felt for Tori, that she was a very special friend. "Honestly, I don't know… But one thing is certain, I'm glad she's my friend," Thomas replied. "I and I'm glad you're my friend," Bluey replied, while going to hug her big brother. "I feel the same about you, little sister," Thomas replied, hugging her back, with both of them wagging their tails.

Thomas helps with the water and takes it back to camp. "There's that water," Chilli said with smile. "Sorry mom we were having a little chat," Thomas said as he placed the water down. "It's not a problem mate," Chilli said as Bandit came out of the tent. "Are we ready for some fun!" Bandit said just before starting a fire to keep his family warm. "Sounds good," Thomas said as he sat down in a camping chair. Bingo and Bluey play near the campsite while Bandit and Chilli get the fire going. Once the fire was going Chilli started making dinner while Bandit and Thomas sat next to each other. "Having fun yet mate?" Bandit said looking to his son. Thomas looked to his father and smiled. "Yeah this is nice, just like old times dad," Thomas said. Bandit smiled as he wrapped his arm around his son's shoulders "good, I'm glad mate," Bandit said as he and his son watched the fire.

(Flashback)

"He's asleep," Bandit said coming back into his tent Emily. "Are you sure he's warm enough," Emily asked worried. "He's fine em," Bandit said softly looking into his wife's eyes. Emily nodded as she laid down. Bandit the yelped in pain as he laid down. "Is your back hurting again?" Emily asked sitting back up. "Just a little bit I'll live," Bandit said laying on his side. "Here let me help you," Emily said as she started rubbing her husband's back. "That's the spot em," Bandit said almost drooling. Emily then starts kissing her back and then up his neck. "I love you so much Bandit," Emily said as she continued to rub his back. But by that time the blue Heeler was already sleeping with his wife holding him. Emily only chuckled as she kissed him on the head and then went to sleep herself.

Kodiwolf321 A/N: nothing like a little family trip before the real wok begins lol alright guys let know what you think about this chapter and I'll see you In the next chapter!