Chapter 14

I have so many ideas for this story and so many things I want these characters to do, but I think I may speed this story up a little. Please let me know if you feel it's moving too fast and I promise I'll slow things down. :) R&R please!

A month later, Deidra had an idea on something fun to do. With their combined income, money was no longer tight and they could afford to do fun stuff. She walked outside to Loki, who was laying in his favorite spot in the hammock. He seemed to be asleep, but as she approached he lifted his head to acknowledge her.

"May I help you?" he asked, squinting up at her, his hand shielding his eyes from the bright sun.

"I'm bored," she said. "Let's go kayaking."

He frowned. "Is that where you travel by river?" he asked, unsure.

She nodded. "Yeah, it'll be fun. You'll do great," she said.

"Is it safe?" he asked.

"Well, you'll have a life jacket. It'll keep you from drowning."

He looked at her as if she were crazy. "Why in the Nine Realms would I want to do anything where I could drown?" he asked. "I don't think so."

She laughed. "You're not going to drown!"

He frowned, not liking being laughed at. "You just said-"

"You're not going to drown," she said again. "If you don't come with me, I'll just go by myself."

He didn't respond. Deidra shrugged and walked off. She was halfway to the back porch when she heard Loki call out.

"Wait!" he called out. "Wait...Damn you, wait!"

Loki rolled out of the hammock and onto his feet. Deidra stopped and turned to him. He crossed the yard to her. "Change your mind?" she smiled.

"I shall go with you," he said. "I can't have you go out there and drown on your own."

She laughed. "No one is going to drown!" she said, bumping him with her shoulder. "It's really not as dangerous as you're thinking it is."

They went into the house, packed a lunch in a small cooler, and they were soon on their way to the river.

"They aren't following us today," Loki remarked, turning around in his seat to stare out the back windshield.

"I wouldn't complain," Deidra said. She reached out and grabbed a fist full of his shirt on his shoulder. "Turn around," she said yanking at him to sit back down.

He swatted her hand away and turned back around in his seat. "I wasn't complaining," he said. "It just makes me wonder why they suddenly stop following us. It makes me uneasy."

"I don't know," Deidra said, shrugging. "Just forget about it ok? Try to enjoy yourself."

He didn't respond.

About thirty minutes later they arrived at the kayak rental cabin. They paid their fee and signed the waiver before being led out to the kayaks. They loaded up on a small bus, was driven several miles up river, then let out.

The driver gave them their life jackets and explained the best way to get down the river. Then he helped them into their kayaks and pushed them into the water.

"This is madness!" Loki complained, his kayak wobbling unsteadily in the water.

"You'll get used to it," Deidra said paddling to catch up with him.

Once they were out of sight of the driver she removed her life jacket and tied it to the side of the kayak.

"Your flotation device is of no use to you tied to your vessel," he scolded. "Put it back on at once!"

She smiled at him. "I can swim just fine," she said. "You can leave yours on, but I hate them."

"You say that now," he said trying out his paddle. "You will wish you had it when you drown."

"Would you be sad?" she teased.

He shot her an unamused look. "Life would certainly be boring," he responded.

"I think you'd be sad," she continued, grinning at him.

He responded by sending a wave of water at her with his paddle.

She laughed and splashed back. Then she sighed. "Well..." she said seriously. "I would be sad if you went away," she said. He looked at her in surprise. "Don't go away, ok?" she asked.

He stared at her, not knowing how to respond. How do you respond to a confession like that? Finally he nodded. "I have no plans on going anywhere," he said.

She smiled. "Well good," she said and paddled ahead.

They floated calmly down the river for about an hour. Loki finally got comfortable in the little boat. He figured out how to not wobble and he was actually enjoying himself, though he still refused to remove his life vest.

Deidra sat up straight and peered ahead. "You hear that?" she asked with a smile.

He listened. He heard a distant roaring.

"It's about to get fun," she said as their kayaks gradually picked up speed.

"Oh god," he said as it dawned on him what was about to happen.

Quickly they came up on the rapids. The only thing they could do was hold on and hope they didn't flip out of the kayak.

Halfway through Deidra's kayak tipped over, spilling her out into the water. She gasped as the cold water surrounded her skin. Before she knew what had happened, she was under the water, unable to touch the bottom, flowing helplessly down the river, bouncing off the rocks going by.

In his kayak, Loki saw Deidra go under, but she was ahead of him and he was helpless. He couldn't see her and jumping in after her would be useless. She could be anywhere. "Damn it!" he yelled, feeling an unfamiliar feeling of panic rising up in his chest. He couldn't remember the last time he had paniced.

Deidra was under water for what seemed like minutes, but was only seconds. Suddenly she popped up with a loud gasp. She was several feet away from her overturned kayak. She swam as fast as she could to catch up with it. She still couldn't touch the bottom and all she could do was cling to the boat.

"Deidra!" he yelled, half angry, half relieved.

"I'm ok!" she said with a laugh.

"It is not funny!" he snapped. "If you had your flotation device that would not have happened!"

"Relax," she said as the rapids smoothed out and calmed down. He paddled up to her. "It happens just about every time I do this," she said.

"You knew it would happen?"

"Eventually," she said. "I don't usually go down on the first set of rapids, though," she said.

Finally she could touch the bottom of the river. She flipped her kayak back over and hauled herself back up in it.

"Put your flotation device on," he said. "Now."

She looked at him, surprised at his now authoritative tone. "Are you telling me what to do?"

"That is exactly what I'm doing. Put it on. Now."

She held back a small smile as she did as she was told. She got her answer. He really would be sad if she had of drowned.

"Thank you," he said when she was finished.

They rode on until they found a suitable place to pull off and stop for their lunch. They pulled the kayaks onto the shore and sat up on a rock and opened the cooler.

They sat and ate and chatted for a while. After eating they sat lazily on the shore of the river, watching the water and wildlife go by. They saw ducks, fish, turtles, and herons.

Suddenly a man's voice behind them spoke up, causing them both to jump.

"Well hello again, you bastard," the voice said.