Author's note from Dreamy: First. I want to thank everyone for reviewing "Vacation". Y'all are great and it gives me a happy to know we can bring a chuckle or two into your lives.
Second, I appreciate the honest reviews and subsequently would like to explain myself. I never meant for this to be anything more than a fun little romp in the park. Just meant for a laugh and something different and I'm sorry if I didn't made that plain enough from the beginning (although I did state just that in my emails, etc) As for the sex slowing down the story; I don't feel that way. These couples, which truly love each other with every fiber of their being, need to express that to one another. That's just part of life. It is sprinkled throughout the story, and there are maybe just one or two more scenes.
This was not meant as retaliated for any review...I just feel the need to explain myself and hope that you ALL will continue to read the story to the end. What is planned for the ultimate retaliation is...in my opinion...a real gut buster and I hope you can make it through to the end.
A/N from Gypsy: I'm glad to be getting honest reviews on this story. But in all fairness, you ask for a plot where none was ever designated short of setting down an honest bit of fluff. For the longest time Shelley and I have seen each and every member of the team get mired into really heavy subjects ranging from missing children to missing wives, losing loved ones in front of their eyes and a real heavy case load. We both figured it was time that the team cut loose and have a real vacation where nothing happens short of bonding - both between the agent and their significant others and between the agents themselves. We both thought that this little bit of fluff would be a welcome break from the 'Sturm und Drang' of what's been posted to date. I should know, I write a hell of a lot of that myself ~L~ So, when reading this, just sit back, grab a Coke/Sprite/Soda/Beer/Whatever your favorite libation, prop your feet up and put your mind on vacation.
There is no plot at all. We never had one main one. Now, the side plots are another matter all on their own. There are three that I can count - Cody/Katie, which given Cody's basic demeanor will take a while. Frankie/Jake... which given Frankie's recent medical ailments and Jake's over active Worry Gland will finally get dragged out in about two more chapters... I think, I can't reach my copy at the second I'm writing this. And last but not least, the plot of the Gender War. Who hasn't had a War of the Sexes? It's give and take.. or rather, Strike and Retaliation. ~snicker~ The girls have struck the first blow unwittingly. Now it's a little payback time. After that... what's the saying? Ah,yes...
ALL'S FAIR IN LOVE AND WAR!!!
Enjoy!
************
"Oh, come on!" Alex urged. "They'll be playing cards for hours."
Monica nodded. "I'm in. I've never understood what it is with men and poker."
"Hell yeah...I'm there," Shay chimed in. "Who wants to sit around watching them play cards?"
"Sounds good to me. I love the water," Frankie piped up.
"No way, no how," Katie stated firmly. She enjoyed spending time with these women, but enough was enough.
Alex shrugged. "Look, you don't have to do it...just come along."
"Fine, but I won't do it," she insisted.
Shay and Frankie walked over to the picnic table where the men sat playing poker and approached their husbands from behind. Shay placed her hands on Frank's shoulders as she leaned down and kissed his cheek. "We wimmins are going for a walk. We won't be long," she said, kissing him goodbye.
"Not too far," Jake insisted, before kissing Frankie. He was still a bit worried about her overdoing things. The evening had come and darkness surrounded them, and there were wild animals that roamed the Canyon. "Take a lantern and be careful."
"Yes, Daddy," Frankie mocked.
Together the five women strolled leisurely to the lake. Once there, they found a secluded spot and all but Katie began stripping down to their birthday suits, carefully spreading their clothing over the nearby bushes. They waded calf-deep into the water before calling out to her. "Come on, Katie....'
Katie watched on incredulously as the four women waded further into the lake before diving in.
"You don't have to get completely undressed, Katie," Shay yelled to the young Ranger.
Katie laughed and shrugged. "What the hell?" she asked before stripping down to nothing and charging into the water to join them before she could change her mind.
--
"They're skinny-dipping," Christian confessed after fifteen minutes or so as he threw two cards onto the center of the table. "Gimme two."
"WHAT?!" the others exclaimed in unison.
"I'm tellin' ya, Alex told me earlier...Monica, Frankie and Shay had agreed readily. Apparently she convinced Katie, because she went with them." He nudged Cody who was the current dealer. "I said two cards."
Cody stared in disbelief as he blindly doled out the cards to Christian. He was almost awestruck at the thought of watching her bathe in the lake...nude. Until he thought better of it. If she discovered him, she would never warm up to him. He sighed longingly as he tossed in his hand and sauntered off to do some thinking.
"A little payback, gentlemen?" Christian temped.
"What do you have in mind," Ty asked curiously.
"Nothing too dangerous," he replied. "Just imagine their surprise when they come out of the water to find their clothing missing."
Frank fought hard to suppress a grin and shook his head. "No way. If you get Shay's Irish up...she's a hellcat. She's already threatened to remove my ...ahem...twice since we've been here."
"Please," Christian moaned. "You've got her gaggin' for it, she's certainly not going to get rid of what she likes most about you."
That brought a few chuckles from the others until Jake added, "You really don't know Shay...and...oh Lord...I just can't imagine the torturous things Frankie would think of."
"Man, are you guys whipped," Christian goaded.
"I'm in," Ty agreed. "It's all in good fun. Besides, after what Shay pulled at the archery competition and the rope course, I would think you'd be up for a little payback, Donovan."
Frank smiled thinly, not because he was angry, but because he felt himself agreeing with them. Earlier, during the rope obstacle course, Shay dropped trow and showed him her ass causing him to slip during the netted rope climb and his legs tangled in the ropes. Oh yeah, it was all oh-so amusing to the others, especially Frankie. Frank thought she might pee herself right then and there, she was laughing to hard. Of course, the little slip cost him time and he turned out to be the only one of the agents that didn't make the required time in traversing the course.
So, he found himself wanting a little payback. Besides, it was just all in fun. She would understand...and laugh about it. Right? "Right."
"Jake?" Christian asked. He was the one holdout.
"Against my better judgment...but, what the hell," he finally said.
--
Frankie chuckled and floated on her back in the cool waters of the lake. "My tattoos." she said. "Markings of a misspent youth actually. Nothing fancy."
"I've heard that people often have stories behind their tattoos." Katie said timidly while treading water. "I mean..."
Frankie lifted her head and shifted, smiling brightly at the girl. "Yeah, you could say that. They're not gang symbols or anything. But mine have their own stories."
"Well?!" Alex grinned. "Dish it girlfriend!"
They all laughed and paddled closer together. They'd all found a sandbar to balance on as Frankie began telling her tale.
"The big one, the winged heart... I got when I was 21. I had come off of a long string of rather unpleasant relationships with guys who would have preferred to conquer me than understand me." She shrugged, looking down into the clear blue water. Her voice took on a softer tone as she continued. "The last one, Aston, had me so far beaten down that I believed I didn't deserve to live. It took one of my closest friends taking me out and getting me stone dead drunk before I realized that I wasn't what he made me believe I was. So, while drunk..." she grinned and looked up. "While drunk, I got the tat. The Unconquered Heart - You can hit me, you can put me down, and you can ignore me... hell you can even kill me." Frankie winked at Shay. "But you can never conquer me."
"Wow... what a story Frankie..." Monica whispered. "I never knew that all of this had happened to you."
"That's because it's ancient history Monica." Frankie laughed. "I've gotten over it you guys, no sense in dwelling on it."
The men crept silently toward the shore. The sky was cloudy, giving extra cover under the darkness. Their only enemy was the moon that occasionally peeked between the clouds that passed it by.
Crouching behind the bushes that held their clothes, Frank paused to glance out into the lake. The five women were huddled together. They were discussing something, the sound of their voices muffled by the sound of the water lapping onto the lakeshore.
He found Shay easily; she faced the shore as she treaded water, listening to what the others had to say. He glanced to either side of him and saw the other three were also watching the women. He was never so glad for the moon to be hidden, his possessive nature taking over. He did not like the thought of anyone seeing what was meant for only him.
Of course, it was just at that moment Shay decided to turn and dive into the water, showing her derriere to the world.
"Nice," Christian whispered as he reached over the bushes and grabbed a handful of clothing.
"Uh-huh...all bright and shiny in the waning moonlight," Ty smirked as he pulled a few articles of clothing from the bush in front of him.
Jake shook his head and said nothing. As his hand closed in around a shirt and a pair of shorts he knew this was the stupidest thing he had ever done in his life. Frankie was going to kill him. Literally.
"Shut the hell up," Frank growled in a low whisper. "One more word..." he threatened, pulling the remainder of the clothing from the bush. "Now, get your asses back to camp." Damn it all, he regretted it before it was done. Shay would never let him touch her after this...and watching her just for this brief moment, her skin wet and slick, he felt the blood rushing to and pooling in his groin. It was going to be a LONG night.
"Man, this water feels good," Shay sputtered as she resurfaced.
"Yeah, it does," Monica agreed diving under to resurface just as Alex asked Frankie...
"And the circle around your navel?" Alex asked.
"Oh that. I don't know what I was thinking."
"What do you mean?" Katie said.
"Well, on a specific job I took, this one informant sent me to a palmistry and tarot card place. The so-called psychic kept repeating over and over that there were three threads of my life and all were woven together. Until the day I died, the threads would never be tied into a knot. The knot symbolized the death. She drew out a picture, three ribbons woven together with a definite beginning, but left open at the end, the ends of the ribbons left unwoven - a story yet to be finished she said. And that's the story of this one." Frankie said as she put her hand over her stomach. "Three ribbons, woven from a beginning, intertwined together with an unfinished ending. Here, forever, the spiral never ends."
"Wow." Alex whispered.
"Deep." Monica sighed.
"Interesting." Katie smiled.
"Fascinating." Shay breathed.
"Oh get over it you guys!" Frankie laughed and swiped her hand through the water, splashing everyone near her. They all retaliated and an all out splash war ensued for about five minutes. Shay finally called for peace when she noticed Frankie was paler and her breath was strained a bit.
"You OK there girlfriend?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah... I'm fine." Frankie offered up a tired smile. "I think I might sleep a week or two when we get back. I feel like I did when first going through physical therapy."
"Physical Therapy? I can't imagine someone like you needing therapy." As soon as she said it and the grey eyes of Mrs. Shaw came to her, Katie felt like sinking under the water.
Frankie chuckled and inched back into the group. "Remember me telling the other night about how I met Jake and finally hooked up with him?" she paused and smiled reassuringly at Shay. "I got shot doing something completely out of character and not like me at all. But, I came out the better in the end for it." Her smile turned more inward this time as Katie smiled back at her. Frankie's eyes took on a softer tone and she sighed a soft little self-satisfied sigh before she kept going. "I was in a coma for a few weeks while my body decided it was ready to start healing from the surgery. The doctor put me into therapy to get my strength back in my upper chest, arms and back."
"OH! I had no idea!! If I had, I wouldn't have -" Katie spluttered.
"Katie."
"Yes Mrs. Shaw?"
Frankie laughed at the pink-cheeked woman. "First off, it's Frankie, please. Second, shut up. I went to the doctor's before I got on the plane and he gave me a thorough checking. If he hadn't thought I would be OK to do this, he would have given me restrictions beyond 'listen to your own body'." She smiled reassuringly at the Park Ranger.
"Hey girls. I'm gonna head back... I'm staring to look like a prune." Alex cut in.
"Last one back, besides Frankie, gets to kiss Cody!" Monica shouted as she took off swimming furiously for the lakeshore. Everyone 'eeuw'd and then took off swimming like mad fish for the lakeshore.
Except for Frankie and Shay. "Whoa there girlfriend. We got to talk." Shay said as she grabbed hold of the other woman's arm.
"Huh? What?"
"You got something else you want to tell me?" Shay's eyes twinkled a bit mischievously.
"Uhhh... "
"Are you.." she inched closer. "You know... pregnant?"
Frankie blinked. "Is it that obvious?"
"I KNEW IT!"
"SSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Frankie hissed and clamped her hand over Shay's mouth. "Hush up!! I want to keep it quiet for now."
"But... does Jake know?"
Over on the edge of the lake, the other three women were making some kind of noises and searching the rocks and trees. Something was wrong. Frankie flicked a look over before turning back to Shay.
"No, he doesn't. He won't until I'm ready to tell him."
At Shay's confused expression, Frankie sighed. "I'm still trying to sort this out. Me, a mother. I want it to be a surprise for Jake. I just found out the morning we got here, Shay."
"So that was the doctor's visit then?"
"No. I scheduled an appointment last week for a complete physical; the intent was to see if the doctor would OK me for this trip. Since blood tests are part of the physical..."
"You had no idea at all?!"
"None. I'm about a month along."
"Wait... you weren't' even suspicious when you showed up a week or so late?"
"Nope. The doctor told me that the meds I'm on would wreak havoc with my cycle. I haven't been regular since I got out of the hospital."
"Oh shit Frankie. You got to tell him. He's already worried over you."
"I will. Promise me Shay, that you won't tell him?"
A shout of outrage echoed across the water to them. Alex was glaring up the path to the camp and Monica was fuming. Poor Katie looked like she was blushing from head to toe.
"What..."
"PROMISE ME!"
"I promise...and Frankie?..."
"Yeah, Shay?"
"You'll make a wonderful mother," Shay reassured her with a bright smile. "Now what's going on with them?" Both she and Frankie swam over quickly and came out of the water.
"What's -"
"Those sneaky bastards!!" Alex hissed.
"What -?" Frankie echoed Shay this time.
"Our clothing. It's gone! They took them, I know it!!" Monica sputtered.
"Well, d'uh Monica," Shay replied. "It's not like Smokey the Bear has any use for them."
"So..." Frankie looked around. "Well, hey...how nice of them to leave us our shoes."
"We can't walk back naked!" Katie wailed.
"Oh yeah we can." Shay beamed.
Frankie grinned evilly and looked at Monica and Alex. "Ladies..."
"Ohhh... you're crazy Shay, you too Frankie..."
"Yeah, but it'll be worth it to see the guys falling over themselves. This means war Girls. We fight nasty."
"Uh... ladies.." Katie whispered. "I.. "
"You.. will walk in the middle of the group so you can't be seen all that well." Frankie offered. "You were looking for a bit of revenge against Cody for his joke about the guns the other day? This is it. Make him drool girlfriend!"
---
Uh-oh...what forms of retaliation will this little prank cause?