"Come in, you two," said Samara's mother sweetly when they arrived. They both smiled at her, and Hope carried Samara who had fallen asleep in her arms. Her mother noticed and gently tucked a stray lock of hair behind Samara's ear. "Like a baby," she muttered.

"We need to talk to you about something," said Hope softly. She was more up to holding her temper for Samara's mother.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Yesterday, Samara started bleeding at my house," said Smeagol. "When we, or Hope I should say, went to clean it, we found a large cut that looks like a whip lash."

"Now," said Hope before the mother could say anything. "For the record, I don't think it was you and I'm not accusing you, but we both need to know, do you know where it came from?" They both showed her the mark and she gasped.

"My husband promised he'd stop doing this to her!" she gasped. Smeagol and Hope both looked at each other.

"What do you mean?" asked Smeagol.

"He used to whip her all the time to try and make her behave. I made him promise me he would stop and I thought he had. My poor child."

"You will talk to him, won't you?" asked Hope.

"Indeed I will. I promise both of you that I will put a stop to this, one way or another."

"Thankyou," said Smeagol with a sad smile. They took their leave and went home. Along the way they ran into Deagol.

"You two look like you just saw death," he said, staring at their depressed faces.

"We had a bad day," muttered Hope. Smeagol didn't say anything but nodded. They both felt like dirt for even thinking of confronting the mother who had obviously not done anything.

"What's wrong with you two?" asked Deagol, a little more concerned this time.

"It's too complicated," said Smeagol, waving it off.

"All right," said Deagol, looking a little disappointed. "Well, I don't like seeing you like this so let's do something tonight. Just have some fun."

Hope smiled and looked at Smeagol.

"That sounds great," he said with a grin. "What should we do?"

"Swimming in the river at night is always great. It's nice and cool."

"Okay," said Hope. "When should we meet you?"

"How about nine o'clock?"

"We'll be there," said Smeagol. "We'd better get home, Hope before Tabby starts to worry."

"All right," she said softly. "See you tonight." They left and Smeagol gave her a strange smile.

"What?" she asked.

"You and Deagol. If I didn't know any better I'd say you liked him."

"Of coarse I like him," she said with a smile. "He's my friend."

"That's not quite what I meant. I mean like him a little too much? Maybe as more than a friend?"

"What?! No!" she cried, her cheeks turning red. "You honestly think that he and I... no! Never! Not in a million years!" Smeagol laughed and patted her on the back.

"I was only teasing you. If you say you don't like him like that then I believe you."

"All right," she muttered. He turned and looked at her more seriously.

"You really don't feel that way for him?"

"No!" she exclaimed. He nodded and they kept on walking. Hope could almost swear she heard him mutter good under his breath.

When they got home, Smeagol told Tabby their plans for the night and to Hope's amazement she was okay with it. At home if she were to leave at nine with any guy, she'd be slaughtered. There was one thing on her mind. What would she do for a bathing suit? She was sure there wasn't one in her pack the last time she looked.

As they headed to their rooms to get changed she decided to look for a t-shirt and shorts instead. But when she fished around, to her surprised there was a swimingsuit inside. Hope began to wonder if the bag was magic. She held it up and examined it. It was a black bakini with red straps, not too skimpy with a fish net shawl to tie around the waist. She smiled at it and put it on, watching in the mirror. It actually looked good on her and she shawl was a perfect touch. Smeagol knocked on her door and she let him in, knowing she was covered, mostly.

Smeagol's eyes widened when he saw her suit and a grin spread on his face.

"What?" she asked, beginning to feel uncomfortable.

"Nothing. You look... pretty. I've never seen clothing like that before."

"It's just for swimming in. Better than a pair of pants anyway." He nodded and smiled.

"I like it," he said staring at the shawl. Outside it was very warm, to her surprise. The day had been hot, but she didn't think it had been that hot. They found Deagol halfway along the way and he gave her the same look Smeagol had.

"Hi, Hope," he said, staring at what was exposed of her chest. She raised her eyebrows and laughed, making him look away. They made it to the river and she waited till they had waded in before she kicked off her sandals.

"Come on," called Smeagol. She slowly stepped in and found the water was refreshing and she pushed off onto her stomach when she was up to her hips. She swam out to Smeagol and he caught her in his arms. She giggled for no reason and he smiled. His words still rung in her head, though he hadn't meant for her to hear them. Now that she was in his arms, she began to wonder if he really liked her more than he was letting her see.

They were interrupted from their 'moment' when Smeagol was suddenly thrown backwards by Deagol who had swum underneath him and grabbed him by the ankles, making him lose his footing. They two fell under the water and rose up coughing and gagging.

Deagol was laughing and soon Hope joined in as well, once she realized how funny it had been. She jumped on Deagol, making him fall from not being prepared. Smeagol was soon on his feet and held both of their heads under the water for a few seconds. He let go when Deagol pinched him hard on the wrist. Deagol surfaced, laughing and splashing at Smeagol, but Hope had disappeared. They both looked around and soon Deagol fell backwards from being pulled off his feet, leaving Smeagol to shout in surprise and look around for Hope, waiting to be pulled under as well. She surfaced behind him and jumped on his back, flinging her arms around his neck. They both fell backwards into the water, kicking and splashing all the way.

Smeagol felt something soft press against his neck quickly and withdraw. His eyes looked to the side and even with his vision blurred from the water, he could see Hope's head near his neck where he had felt it.

They surfaced and saw that Deagol was nowhere to be seen. "Deagol?" cried Hope cautiously. They both looked around and began to feel uneasy. A brown thick liquid splattered on both of them and they looked up to see Deagol up in the tree with an empty bucket of mud. Hope shrieked and dived under frantically scrubbing it from her hair. When she finally surfaced she was pulled out of the way by Smeagol so that Deagol could jump in without landing on her. They all took a moment to calm down and laughed.

"See?" said Deagol after a moment. "Laughter. This is all I wanted to hear from you two after today. I'm glad to see I was successful."

"Successful in making us a mess you mean," laughed Smeagol. "Don't worry, we'll get even eventually."

"Fair's fair," said Deagol with a shrug. "I have to leave though. It's getting late."

"See you tomorrow then," called Hope as she waved. Deagol left, leaving them alone. Hope floated out on her back and kicked herself a few feet away, savoring the moment.

"May I ask you something?" asked Smeagol. Hope sunk back to her feet and looked at him.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Did you kiss my neck when we fell backwards in the water?" Hope's face burned red. She had hoped the water had kept his skin from feeling that. Looking back, she really didn't know why she had done it.

"I must have bumped into you when we fell," she lied. "Why?"

"Nothing. I figured as much. Forgive me."

"It's okay. Just for the record, I doubt I'll ever kiss a guy ever so you don't have to worry."

"Why do you think that?"

"C'mon. It's not like I've never looked in the mirror before. There are tons of girls out there prettier than me. I just have to accept the fact that there's probably no other half that'll actually be attracted to me."

"And you believe this?" he asked, a hint of shock in his voice.

"I think most girls do. At least where I come from anyways. All I know is I've only had one boyfriend in my entire life and... looking back he may not have been a good choice."

"At least you seem to have good judgment when it comes to boys."

"I do usually, but the minute they say things like, You're so beautiful or I want to be with you I come crumbling. Whatever was left of my will is gone and I believe them just because I want to hear it again. It's really selfish if you think about it."

"Maybe," said Smeagol with a shrug. "But I guess I can understand, even though I'm no girl." Hope giggled.

"Well, I'd hope not."

"So what about this boyfriend? Are you two still together?"

"I guess not," she muttered. "My parents somehow knew all along he wasn't any good. Probably the one time I should've listened."

"And what would they say if someone such as I came along?" She laughed.

"Oh there'd be trouble all right," she teased. "Nah. I actually think they'd respect you. They'd like you."

"And what about you?" She smiled.

"Smeagol, we may not be a couple, but if I ever do date again, I want my boyfriend to be like you. Someone who respects me and doesn't care how weird I look in my Gothic apparel." She stopped and her smile faded. "At least, I don't think you do?"

"I care not as long as you're dressed modestly."

"Oh, then I guess I look really... bad in this bakini?" she asked. He shrugged.

"Maybe a little. But you look pretty in it." She laughed and shook her head.

"Nice try but I'm not falling for that so easily."

"Falling for what?" he asked with a smile.

"Saying I'm pretty, trying to make me feel like I am."

"I'm not trying to trick you," he said with a smile, inching closer to her.

"Then stop looking at me like that," she said, inching away. He stopped and sighed. She saw the look on his face and suddenly realized he had meant every word he had said. She came back and gave him a hug from behind. "Thanks," she whispered. He smiled and reached up and touched her arms. She let go and he turned so he was facing her. He wanted so badly to just kiss her, to let her know how he felt, but quickly thought better of it. Instead he took her hand and placed a small kiss on it.

"Babysteps," he whispered softly. She nodded and smiled.

"Thanks for understanding."