A/N: Wow did not realize I hadn't updated since April. Hopefully someone is still reading this. Here comes camping part 2.

Chapter 36

So far, the first day of camping had gone by without a hitch. The group of six now sat around the campfire with full bellies. Avery and Tommy had been very excited to cook their own hotdogs over the fire. Avery managed with minimal help, but Trish had a hand on Tommy's camp fork to insure it didn't land in the pit.

Of course, the kids were even more excited when they pulled out the marshmallows to make smores. Everyone seemed to have their own opinion on how much to cook the sugary treat. Except Tommy, he just cared that it was gooey and making a mess as he took huge bites.

Afterwards Luke decided to pull out his guitar and teach them some songs he'd grown up singing around the campfire. Clarke took the instrument from him and tried a few songs, but it has been years since she'd played so she had a bit of a hard start. Eventually she managed to get back into the swing of it.

"I think it's time for bed," Trish announced when she saw her son sleepily laying against his father. His eyes were closed but he wasn't quite there yet.

Clarke looked over to see Avery was starting to tire out as well. "Yeah, I think it's definitely bedtime."

"I'm not tired yet," Avery tried to argue but ended with a yawn.

"We have a big day tomorrow taking out the boat. You don't want to be sleepy for that," Lexa reminded her. "We need to get up early."

"Fine," Avery kind of grumbled, but headed for the tent anyway. Luke followed behind her with Tommy in his arms. Lexa gave Clarke a quick kiss before heading for the tent herself. She knew Clarke would probably be heading to bed herself soon so she might as well join Avery in the tent.

Avery was climbing into her sleeping back as Lexa closed the door of the tent. She had already changed into the clothes she planned to sleep in earlier because she knew it might get a little more complicated when everyone was trying to get ready for bed. She climbed into her own sleeping bag that was laid out next to Avery's. She flipped off the battery-operated lantern and hoped sleep would come soon.

"How long do we think the kids will last in there?" Clarke asked Trish once the light in the tent went out.

"Mine will probably be fine since Luke is in there with him. He can be a daddy's boy when he wants to be. Yours, I'm not sure. You know how she is with new places."

Clarke sighed but she knew it was true. Avery had to get comfortable somewhere first. "True."

Still Clarke decided to be optimistic as she said goodnight to Trish and they both climbed into their respective beds.

~CL~

Clarke had only finally managed to fall asleep when she was awakened again by Avery climbing into the bed with her. She saw Lexa standing beside the bed and gave her a look. Lexa just gave her a shushing motion and crawled into bed on the other side of Clarke. They both laid there quietly until it looked like Avery had fallen asleep.

Once they were both sure she was out, Lexa decided to explain quietly. "She said she was worried about you sleeping here all by yourself." Lexa was sure that was at least partially true. She wasn't sure if it was the whole truth though. Avery always had a hard time sleeping somewhere new. She'd learned that much.

"Well I'm not going to complain about having my girls with me," Clarke responded. It was even better with Avery not in the middle for once. She got to have both of them close to her. She had originally taken the space in the middle since she'd be there all alone. She should have known that wouldn't last.

"Think she'll want to try the tent again tomorrow?" she asked Lexa.

Lexa mulled it over. "I think she might. Especially if Tommy wants to sleep by her. He and Luke were in the second room tonight since it was the four of us. I do think she was mostly just worried you were in here by yourself. She's a really sweet kid that way."

Clarke smiled down at her little girl. "She really is."

Clarke tried to make her way off the bed between her two girls the next morning. It was a little harder than she anticipated since both of them had a hold on her. She managed though and saw Trish was just stirring herself.

The two women quietly got to work on making breakfast for the group. The more time they spent together the more they seemed to become in sync. They laughed and teased each other as they did so.

When everything was ready, they went over to their respective family and began the wake-up process. Out of all of them Lexa seemed to be the most difficult. The young woman was not ready to open her eyes just yet. Clarke was prepared though and offered her a cup of hot tea with some caffeine. She knew Lexa didn't drink coffee but would on occasion have tea.

Once breakfast was cleaned up, everyone split up to get ready for the day ahead. The campground they had found also had a big dock and rented boats out for their campers. They weren't large vessels but comfortable enough for their small group to enjoy the day.

Once all the paperwork was signed for the boat. The group climbed aboard, and Luke took them out onto the small lake. They circled a few times just enjoying the cool air that whipped by them on such a hot day. Both kids soon wanted to get in the water so he found a quiet spot they could stop for a while.

Being over-protective parents, Clarke and Trish, both check the kids' lifejackets to make sure they were secure before letting the kids jump off the back of the boat. Lexa had already done the same and was waiting in the water for them. Clarke followed them shortly after.

When she came back up, she turned to see Trish tucked into her husband's side on the small seating area. It gave her a smile to see them. Figuring they just wanted a few minutes alone, she turned back to the kids and started a splash war.\

Tommy was trying his hardest, but he just couldn't create the waves the others were getting him with. Lexa swam behind him and took his little hands in her own and helped him create a huge wave that hit both Clarke and Avery square in the face.

Clarke jumped towards Lexa as she swam away. She managed to catch her, but just barely. The two splashed at each other and tried to get a leg up on the other. But the battle raged for several minutes as the kids laughed at the two adults, each pushing water at the both of them.

All the sudden Clarke was being pulled underwater and trying to fight her way back to the surface. Water flew everywhere as she spit it out and took a deep breath. "You are in so much trouble!" she growled when she saw the smirk on Trish's face. Apparently, she'd dove in when Clarke wasn't looking.

Clarke dove at Trish this time and managed to catch the older woman by the shoulders. She bounced up in an effort to push Trish down, but she was stronger than she looked and managed to stay above the water.

Pushing herself off, Clarke splashed her countless times instead. "You're such a jerk."

"Yeah, I am," Trish agreed. "But it was fun."

"Tommy, did you see how mean your mom is? You should get her!" Clarke decided on another tactic.

The little boy looked between his mother and his aunt for a moment, not sure what to do. But with little more encouragement Trish had a face full of what and a giggling son. "Oh, we're playing dirty, are we?"

What no one saw coming was Trish getting pulled underwater. This time leaving a laughing Lexa. Trish sputtered and gave the younger woman a glare, but she knew she deserved that. "Protecting the girlfriend, are we?"

"Always," Lexa agreed. She swam to Clarke's side and gave her a quick kiss.

"Who wants to try out the tube?" Luke asked, unaware of the little war that was going on.

Avery and Tommy both squealed and swam towards the back of the boat towards him. The adults moved a little more slowly but soon they were all out of the water once again, trying to decide who would ride the tube first.

They decided Trish and Tommy would go out first just in case he didn't like it. They started out slow and even from a distance, Clarke could see Tommy's hands tighten on the handles as the boat sped up. Once they really got going though, there was a smile of his face. She grabbed Trish's camera and tried to take a few photos, but she didn't know how to use the dang thing, so she hoped they worked out.

They let them ride around for several more minutes before pulling them in to switch out the rider.

"Who do you want to ride with you Avery?"

"Lexa!"

Clarke wasn't even surprised by this. Lexa was the obvious choice. Clarke almost was relieved. She wasn't sure she wanted to try it anyway. Not that she thought Luke would do something to get her hurt. She just wasn't sure she'd like it.

Lexa climbed on first and got settled before helping Avery sit in front of her. Clarke snapped a couple photos of it on her phone. When he was given the all clear, Luke started moving the boat forward, slow at first until the rope became taunt and then faster.

Lexa wasn't to sure about this as the tube began to move faster but then once it got going, she could just sit back and relax. She felt Avery do the same. Luke drove them around for awhile until Lexa threw up the signal, they were ready stop.

After a lunch break the group went back to swimming, this time a little closer to shore so that Tommy and Avery could both stand up. Luke stayed close to the boat as a precaution, but he didn't seem to mind a little quiet. Clarke was pretty sure he was napping at one point when she looked his way.

By the time the group had made it back to their campground, both kids were super tired. Clarke was sure they'd have no problem with either of them going to bed that night. Both the kids crashed into their camp chairs and stayed there quietly for a while. Clarke couldn't be sure, but it looked like Tommy took a small nap. Avery stayed awake but she was mostly silent. None of the adults were too energetic either. The decided to make dinner simple and cooked up some burgers.

Clarke couldn't help but giggle at Tommy. The poor kid would take a bite and then his head would fall back on the chair with his eyes closed. A few minutes later and the process would repeat.

This time though when the kids went to bed, the adults stayed up. The two couples finally got the chance to just sit and get to know each other. Even Clarke was getting a chance to know more about Luke. He'd been around for years, but Clarke couldn't say she'd ever had the chance to really spend time with him. He was a good guy and a really good partner to Trish.

"So, Clarke, have you decided to like camping yet?" Trish teased.

"No," Clarke quickly responded. She laughed though and conceded. "It's not so bad, I guess. I still think there are to many bugs, but I am enjoying to just getting away from everything."

"It is a definite bonus. Just surrounded by nature and people are few and far between. You can just sit back and relax."

Clarke had to agree. There were definite advantages to this trip. She'd barely given anything going on at home a second thought.

"Willing to do it again sometime?" Trish asked.

Clarke laughed. "Ask me again when this trip is over. Anything could happen between now then." She'd probably be willing to do it again though. But she'd still fight against a tent. At least with the trailer she felt like she had more of a bed, even if it wasn't near as soft as her bed.

As the fire died down and Clarke led Lexa to their bed, she had to wonder what the next day would bring.