Happy Campers

Part 2 of 3

The dark had fallen and a chill in the air was now present. They were all seated around the crackling fire, toasting marshmallows and drinking beer. Carisi and Fin on one side, however with a wide gap between the two, and the two women on the opposite side, sitting rather close to one another, as if they seemed to unconsciously gravitate towards the warmth of their bodies.

Fin was now in a better mood since he was after having a couple of beers and he was just in the process of telling a joke. They all laughed and snickered at the funny tale, giggling like kids as the alcohol had gotten to their heads.

"We better not leave any traces of food near our tents during the night." Amanda stated and popped a perfectly toasted marshmallow into her mouth, sighing in delight as the gooeyness melted and spread it's sweet flavours on her lips.

"Why? Can't we just leave it out here?" Carisi asked and drained the last of his beer in one large swig.

"We could, but I don't wanna wake up in the middle of the night with a bear sniffing my face before tearing my body into tiny little shreds." the blonde placed another two white fluffy sweets on her stick and held it over the fire, watching it bubble slightly before it turned golden brown.

"Bears?" Carisi gasped and immediately began to look around the campsite for any signs of a big furry beast. Even Fin started to turn his head in every direction, looking slightly scared and worried.

"Don't worry. They won't come near the fire, besides, I don't think they like beer or marshmallows." Amanda shrugged casually, removing her sweet treat from the burning fire, handed one to Liv and devoured the second one herself.

"Well, I'm not taking any risks. I'm gonna bury the last bag before they can pick up the scent, then I'm going to bed." grabbing the bag of treats and a small shovel, he walked off the campsite and into the dark.

Fin got to his feet and stretched his limbs. "Yeah. I'm gonna hit the sack too. Don't stay up too late girls." he winked and retreated into Carisi's expensive and almost fully furnished tent, leaving the two ladies alone, side by side enjoing the peace and quiet that nature only could.

Liv was wrapped in a thin blanket to keep the chill out. Even though the fire was radiating enough heat she could still feel the intermittent cool breeze on her arms and legs. From the corner of her eye she noticed how Amanda tried to curl up into herself and how she unknowingly must've shifted closer to Liv's side for some warmth and comfort and a sudden, almost overwhelming, feeling of nurture and care towards the smaller woman washed over her.

Slowly she lifted one side of the blanket and gestured for Amanda to snuggle up against her side. "Come here, I can see that you're cold." immediately the blonde slid underneath the shrug and sighed as she instantly could feel the brunette's warmth entering her own chilled form.

"Thanks." she whispered and continued to stare into the fire, butterflies now fluttering around in her stomach.

"How's your back doing? I can put some aloe vera on for you, if you'd like. It should help with the stinging and burning."

Amanda smirked. "Anything to see me half naked, ugh? I think I burnt my ass as well, wanna check it out?" she batted her eyelashes seductively and nudged Liv in her side with her elbow.

"We'll save that for another night, Rollins."

As gently as she could, Liv massaged the lotion onto her bare back, unclasping the bra to get better access. Precisely in that moment, Carisi decided to make his reappearance and he stopped dead in his tracks as he spotted their Lieutenant caressing his colleague's naked skin and he froze, feeling his whole face heat up and turn completely red. He was grateful for the darkness surrounding them, otherwise his beet red skin would've been way too obvious.

"Um... oh, I... I didn't mean... I wasn't... I... I didn't know... um, sorry... so sorry... I..." he couldn't get a decent word out of his mouth as he watched the two women in front of him. "Um, good night." he stuttered and literally dove into his tent, head first, and a loud shriek from Fin echoed through the campsite.

"What the fuck, Carisi! Get your hands off my ass or I'll shoot you right now!"

Both women burst out laughing and Olivia continued her massage, taking great care in her actions as not to hurt the blonde further. "Is it sore?" she asked and gently blew a cool breath of air onto the burnt shoulders and saw the goosebumps rise on the smooth surface.

"It's... um, it's not... too bad. Thanks." she shivered underneath the older woman's touch, never wanting the moment to end but knew that it was already over.

"You're welcome. How about we hit the sheets, ugh?" Liv suggested as she stiffled a yawn and got to her feet. "I'll even sing you a lullaby." she winked, reaching her hand out to help her friend up.

"Oh, hit the sheets! Sounds awfully kinky, Lieutenant, but I like it and a lullaby on top of that would just make my night. What are we waiting for?" giggling like little schoolgirls, they discretely made their way into their shared tent and crawled inside their sleeping bags, facing each other and sighed in contentment, tired after the days activities and the hot sun.

"Go on then." Amanda encountered, smiling widely.

Liv frowned and snuggled deeper down into her bedding, making herself as comfortable as she could get considering she was sleeping on the ground. "What do you mean?"

"You promised me a lullaby, remember? Or was it just a ruse to get me into bed quicker?"

Olivia smiled tenderly and reached out to brush blonde tresses away from her sun burnt, slightly freckled, face. "You got me." she said almost in a whisper, feeling the tiredness washing over her like a giant wave. "You know me all too well, Rollins."

Amanda unconsciously leaned into the touch, closing her eyes briefly and smiled lazily. "Tell me about it. It's scary how well I know you." she mumbled, already on the edge of peaceful slumber.

After one last caress over Amanda's heated cheek, they both drifted off, leaving their conscious state behind for a while, letting the world spin madly on as the nature fell asleep around them.

A loud high pitched shriek pierced the air and the two women immediately woke up, startled by the sudden noise, heads turning in every direction to locate where the sound was coming from, confused and still half asleep. "What was that?" Amanda panted, her heart pumping wildly.

"I don't know, let me check." slowly Liv pulled the zipper down and peeked outside, spotting Fin and Carisi trying desperately to get out of the tiny opening of their tent at the same time, arms flailing and muttering profanities. "You have to see this. Amanda." Liv chuckled and made room for the blonde to stick her head out to see the amusing scene taking place a few yards away. Amanda ended up in a fit of laughter as she saw her two male colleagues in a tangled heap, half way out the tent, trying not to touch each other but it proved to be impossible since the opening was only ment for one person at a time and not two.

"Move, Carisi, or I swear I'll smother you with this shitty tent of yours."

"I'm trying!" the younger man was stuck and couldn't move forward or backwards, making the whole situation worse for them but not for Liv and Amanda who were laughing so hard they started crying. "I can't move, Fin!"

"Well, I can't move until you move." they struggled to get free, all their limbs tangled and flailing in every direction, kicking and screaming like two toddlers.

In one last attempt to free himself, Fin pushed himself up and somehow rolled out onto the ground, quickly stood up and began to stomp wildly, clawing and clutching at his clothes, cursing under his breath before pulling his shirt off completely. "What the hell, Carisi! Did you have to set up our tent on a fucking ant hill? I'm literally being eaten alive!"

Carisi had, at this stage, also gotten to his feet and was pretty much copying Fin's movements in a desperate attempt to fight the ants off his clothing. "You picked the spot, I just helped putting the thing up. This is all your fault, man! Fuck, I'm like a pin cushion."

As the two women continued to laugh, Carisi glared in their direction, his arms and legs still moving wildly through the air, trying to shake the last of the bugs away. "You think this is funny?" Carisi spat as he approached their tent.

Amanda wiped at her eyes, trying her hardest to stop her hysterical giggles. "Don't bring them over here. Stay where you are or I swear to god I will shoot."

"Me too!" Liv chipped in, her previous laughter had now turned into a face of seriousness and slight fear. "Just pull the hooks out from the ground and move the tent. Just don't come near us with your horrible and disgusting pets."

"Pets!" Fin snorted as he began to pull the hooks from the soil as Liv had suggested. "I'll show you pets." he muttered and angrily stomped around the ground like an obnoxious child.

"Don't you dare." Amanda warned. "I'm armed."

"Yeah, me too!" Fin shot back. "Armed with ants."

"I'll shoot you before you even get close to our tent." Liv added and pulled their zipper down. "Good night, guys. Sleep tight, don't let the ants bite." they both snickered as they heard their colleagues muttering and cursing non stop while relocating their tent to, hopefully, an ant free area.

"They're such kids." Amanda chuckled as she, once again, slid her legs down her sleeping bag and got herself comfortable.

"Kids?" Liv stated, "they're more like toddlers than anything but they did give us a good laugh so I suppose they're forgiven for disturbing our beauty sleep. It was well worth it."

"We can still hear you, you know!" Carisi shouted from the outside.

"Good." the two women responded in unison.

Things quieted down after a few minutes. The guys had found a new spot for their flimsy looking tent and were now back inside trying to go back to sleep with a fierce itch all over their bodies.

Amanda rolled onto her back but immediately regretted it as her sunburn made itself known in an awful stinging way and she couldn't help but to gasp and winch from the unwelcoming feeling. "Ouch! Bad idea. Side it is."

"Oh, poor baby." Liv cooed gently and ran her fingers through Amanda's shiny blonde hair. "You're burnt like a crisp. What am I gonna do with you?"

Pouting, Amanda shifted closer to the brunette and sighed. "I don't know. Maybe you can blow on it like you did before. It felt nice and cool." she suggested and smiled sheepishly.

"Turn around then." Liv gently pushed her sweatshirt up to her neck and blew cool puffs of air onto the red surfaces of the skin, hearing Amanda hiss at first but then sigh in relief.

A couple of minutes passed before the blonde spoke up. "You can stop now. I don't want you passing out on me. Although, I do have that affect on women." she grinned and heard Liv chuckle behind her.

"I bet you do." she whispered and pulled the hoodie back down, making sure it covered any exposed area of skin and kissed the back of Amanda's head. "Sleep now." she murmured.

Just as Liv was drifting off, Amanda turned around to her other side, facing the brunette. "Liv?" she whispered, hoping that her friend was still semi awake.

"Hmm?" came the tired reply.

"I'm cold." Amanda admitted, voice soft and low, almost childlike. She shivered slightly and scooted closer to the warm body next to her.

Olivia popped one eye open before sitting up. "I've got an idea. Do you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you, Liv." the blonde frowned and untangled herself from the material of her bedding.

Amanda watched as Liv unzipped the two sleeping bags and how she then zipped them back up together, so they ended up with one giant nice and cozy cocoon of warmth. "Get in." Liv urged gently and made sure the younger woman was comfortable before she joined her, pulling her small frame close to her own. "God! Your feet are absolutely freezing, honey. Come here." she pulled her even closer, slipping one arm underneath Amanda's neck and the other roping around her waist, letting the blonde head rest in the crook of her neck. "I think you got a bit too much sun, ugh?" she hummed and tenderly placed a kiss on a flushed forehead.

"It was worth it, cause I got to see you in your underwear and I would do it again." she mumbled and snuggled closer, inhaling the scent of sun kissed skin and vanilla that radiated from the woman she held close to her heart.

Liv was just about to shoot back a smart comment but was interrupted by Fin's loud moaning and groaning. "Oh man! What the hell did you eat, Carisi? Did something crawl up your ass and die? I can almost taste it, man."

"Sorry, I forgot to bring my meds for my stomach. I can't help it." Carisi wined. "It'll settle down in a while."

"That's easy for you to say, you're probably use to it. God, I wish I had my own tent, or better yet, I wish I was home, in my own apartment, in my own bedroom, in my own bed, by myself."

"Just don't breath in through your nose or open the zipper for some air."

"Open the zipper?" Fin repeated, "Open the zipper? We're in a tent, a quite shitty tent for that matter, which doesn't keep the heat in so, clearly, this fabric is useless so we might as well be sleeping without it. Do you think that pulling down the zipper would actually make a difference? I could've knitted us a better freaking tent."

"Sorry, pal. I can't control it." the whiny voice could be heard again. "Illegal tuck the sleeping bag around me as tight as I can but, you know, air always finds it's own way out."

The two women listened to their bickering, looking at each other, both thinking the same thing. That they were so lucky to be in their own private little nest of comfort and warmth.