They arrived not long after setting out. Ardy stood, walked the few steps to where John still lay, half reclined. Leaning over, she brushed a few errant locks from his face. Normally he was well groomed, but ever since he had learned that she liked longer hair on a man, he had grown his hair out a few inches. Now, the edges curled slightly around his ears and along his eyebrows. Rubbing her cheek along his, she called his name softly.

"Come along love, its time to go to work."

He blinked blearily for a moment before sitting up and kissing her. Gentle and warm, it was like a homecoming, but then again, most of his kisses were. Nuzzling closer to him for a moment, she breathed in deeply. His scent was musky, with notes of sandalwood. Something she had hated as a child, but had turned to for comfort in times of need. Pulling back, she smiled fondly at him.

"Are we ready, Mr. Gipe?" She suppressed laughter.

"Of course Dorothy." He answered with another smile.

With a steady nod, she held out a hand, and when he took it she went along, leading him out the hatch. There were those silly little people with the Hawaiian shirts and the plastic leis, trying to mooch off of Hawaiian success with the tourists. Ardy put on a grateful smile and tried to act like she didn't want to be anywhere else. It wasn't very hard, seeing as she would follow John anywhere. John placed a hand at Ardys back, led her along towards the tarmac where a shuttle waited.

It took ten long minutes to get them to and checked into the hotel. Finally, their wait was over. Entering their suite, John led Ardy into the room and shut the door behind them. A quick scan around revealed their bag near the entrance to the bedroom. John pressed a kiss to Ardys forehead and walked to the table, where a stack of papers lay. Rifling through, he picked out a few and offered them to her.

"We should make a few friends, Ardy. They could come in handy."

When she agreed, he tossed her a bag, then went into the bedroom to change into a pair of swimming trunks. Reappearing a few moments later, he found Ardy applying a touch of lip gloss. The bikini she wore was emerald green, turning her large eyes to sparkling pools of inky green. Biting back a groan, he merely took her offered hand and left the suite to lounge around the pool with a few of the other guests.

It was midafternoon the next day when Ardy nudged him.

"I think its time we get going." She turned to the rest of their little gathering, and while wearing a sheepish grin, explained that she had been too long without her Emmett bear. It was all John could do to keep from laughing. Soon, they were up and running towards their suite. John was handed a skin suit, but he couldn't keep from staring at his little one as she peeled the rubber up her own body. Catching him in the act, she grinned and tossed flippers at him.

"Get dressed Emmett. Its time to go."

Laughing slightly, he dressed and followed her out to where sand met surf. She strapped into a harness contraption, and then attached a connecting belt to his waist. John hated swimming in new waters, was terrified of new depths and often stopped swimming altogether once in the water. Together they entered the warm water and struck out for a tiny little manmade platform about four leagues off. It wasn't long before Ardy was towing John. However, they made it to the customs hold quickly, and Ardy and john peeled out of their skin suits and into his trunks and her bikini. Prowling down the halls, they located a security guard and attempted to hide from him. John sneezed though, making Ardy jump and her elbow caught a vase on a shelf. The guard caught them, and John made to subdue.

The guard shouted something in Dutch that sounded like a snake had been released. Deadliest something or other, but before Ardy could interrupt, John had caught him on the temple and knocked him unconscious. It was too late however, because they both heard an angry hiss, and Ardy felt something piercing her back. Reaching back, she found scales. The snake hanging from her back. Turning slowly towards John as the snake disengaged from her back. The fear in his eyes mirrored her own. Already she was shaking, sweating, and she clumsily fell down the wall as she reached for its support. Frantically, John flipped her and began sucking poison and spitting it to the side. Realizing that it was already in her system, he flipped out his cellular and began screaming for someone to pick them up, running along the hallways until he found another security guard. Shutting his cellular, telling the guard his wife had been struck by the snake. The guard produced a needle and a small vial, and John took it and ran, already shooting up the needle. John slid like a baseball player up next to Ardy, jamming the anti-venom into her shoulder. But she didn't stir, stayed facedown where he had left her. Tossing the needle away, he lifted her into his lap, buried his face into her shoulder.

It couldn't be the end of them… Could it?