A/N: Hello there! This is the ninth chapter of "A different Cahill story" and it might be in two parts (it probably will be). I want to say a huge 'Thank you' to everyone who reviewed, it really means a lot to me! I am trying really hard for this story and spend at least two days writing each chapter. So, I hope you like it! Love ya all!

Disclaimer: I, Burning Tulip, do NOT own the 39 clues.

Chapter nine: Excursion

They must have been talking for about an hour when they heard loud footsteps and the door to the kitchen burst open. Everybody's head turned towards the noise. There, by the door, stood three little boys, who weren't older than three. They were clearly triplets, but each had different eye color. The boy who was on the right had green eyes, the one in the middle blue and the one on the left brown. They looked a lot like Seraphine and Shaunee, who rose from their seats the moment they saw them and hugged them. The boys started laughing when the girls picked them up and tickled them. Then, the twins turned to face the rest of the Cahills in the room, smiling.

"Guys, remember when we told you we have three brothers? Well, here they are. This-", she pointed at the green eyed one, "is Jason, this-", she pointed at the blue eyed one, "is Mark and this- ", she pointed at the brown eyed one, "is Kevin." Seraphine introduced. "They are three years old."

"Almost four!"

Seraphine laughed. She made them breakfast (cereal and juice) and sat back down. Nothing was said for a while and the rest were ready to leave, when she suggested going on a day trip.

"A day trip?"

"Yes! We can have a picnic and swim in the nearby lake. It's going to be fun! And", she added, "we will have the opportunity to 'bond' and 'work together' as your Uncle Fiske keeps saying we should do. Come on!"

"I don't see why not." Amy agreed. " It is a really good chance to get to know each other better. And it will probably be fun too."

"Great! It's settled then. You have an hour to get ready. In the meantime, I'm going to prepare some fingerfood. Shaun, could you drop the boys off to Alyson's?"

"Are you sure?" Dan said disbelievingly "You are going to let your brothers with a Lucian?"

"Well, thank you, Daniel." Ian's sarcasm was obvious.

Dan was about to answer when Shaunee, sensing the danger of an argument that would definitely ensue, spoke up.

"Alyson loves them and so do they. They will have a good time. Now, you should go get ready. We'll meet again here in an hour. Let's go now boys."

Everyone rushed to get ready while Seraphine started searching the cupboards to find the ingredients she would need and Shaunee moved towards the main entrance with her brothers.

One hour later, everyone was in the kitchen and ready to go.

"Did you all bring swimsuits? We are going to be swimming, you know."

Everybody said yes, except for Amy and Sinead. They just looked around the room, their eyes not resting anywhere.

"Girls... come on! You have ten minutes to find a swimsuit. In case you don't have one here, ask the House to give you one. We'll wait."

She wouldn't take no for an answer, so they left. Six minutes later, they were back and they all left the House. They wouldn't take a car, Seraphine explained, because the countryside was plain beautiful and the place they were heading at was really close, so a vehicle wouldn't be necessary. The moved just like they did when they were rescued. One twin girl (Seraphine) was in front of them, the other (Shaunee) was behind. They walked all together at the same pace and they were all talking with each other. Seraphine was engaged in a conversation with Ted, who had brought Flamsteed with him, and Shaunee was talking to Jonah, who, as she found out, shared her love for Shakespeare. Amy was discussing with Ian about who-knows-what, Dan was getting on Natalie's nerves, the Holt twins were busy chasing each other, Sinead was talking to Hamilton, who surprisingly liked computer programming and was not as dumb as she thought and Nellie was explaining to Ned how math are essential to anyone who wants to be a good cook. They must have been walking in the woods surrounding GCC for about ten minutes when they reached a clearing. The place was absolutely wonderful. There was a lake with crystal clear blue water, the grass was soft and had an amazing shade of green, there was a small stream and the giant trees shaded most of the place. This place looked like it was a fairy's palace, which humans had found by mistake. There was a soft breeze, which was barely noticeable.

"This place is breathtaking!" said Amy, stunned, her voice a soft whisper.

"It is, isn't it? We found it quite by accident, really. We were playing hide and seek, and I was trying to find a place to hide where Shaunee wouldn't find me. As I was running, I found this clearing. We have spent countless days and night here after that."

They spent the next two hours there, swimming, talking, laughing, joking. Amy proved to be a very good swimmer, actually. Shaunee swam too, even competing with the Holt twins at same point (she won). Seraphine did not, though. Instead, she stayed with Ted. She described the scenery and he smiled.

"This must be a very pretty place." he noticed.

"It is!"

Neither said anything for a while, until Seraphine decided to break the silence.

"Tell me something about you."

"What?"

"Tell me something about you. We are supposed to get to know each other, right? So, tell me something about you."

"Okay." he laughed. "What do you want to know?"

"Anything you are willing to share."

"Hmm okay. Well, my name is Ted Starling and I am 24 years old. I am a Cahill, a member of the Ekaterina branch. I have a seeing eye dog named Flamsteed. I like math, science and history. I have taken part in the Clue Hunt. What else? I went on my first mission with my siblings when I was 11. I hate garlic. My favorite color is sea blue. I finished college when I was 17. I used to design buildings very well. That's it, I think."

Seraphine didn't say anything immediately. She seemed to process what he had said before she asked him something.

"You say you used to design. Why used to?"

"I stopped when I figured out I could no longer see my designs."

"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound so impolite." she sounded kind of... embarrassed. He just waved it off.

"Nah, it's okay. Besides, I will be able to design again soon, right?"

She understood what he was talking about.

"Yes. Yes you will be."

"Now, why don't you tell me about you?"

"Well, my name is Seraphine Sharlin Cahill and I am a Lucian/Tomas/Ekaterina/Janus/Madrigal. I am 21 years old. I have a lazy orange cat named Garfield. I like literature. I have taken part in the Vesper fight, though behind the scenes. I have a twin sister. We have both been a secret since the day we were born. My favorite color is purple. I love ice skating and playing the piano. I speak many different languages, like Greek, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese and Swedish. I hate violence and try to avoid it, though do not hesitate to use it when necessary. I finished college when I was 18. Um... that must be it."

Just like she had done before, ted took his time before he answered. And what he said was something she definitely did not expect.

"I must be hard to be kept a secret your entire life."

"It is, in the beginning. But you get used to it. Besides, we still have our friends, both Cahills and non Cahill. It's not that bad, really. Besides, we won't be a secret forever. It's just not the time to let the others know yet. But, to be honest, I prefer living in GCC and being myself to living with the rest of the Cahills and be someone else. I know it may sound weird but that's just how I feel."

"I get it. I really do. After the Hunt, we all had to get used to being ourselves again. To some, like the Kabras,that was more difficult than others, but we all had to do it. So, yeah, I understand the way you feel. You don't want to lose yourself."

They remained quiet, neither of them eager to break the peaceful silence between them. They had both done it again. Be themselves with each other. It was weird, because they couldn't really explain it; they just couldn't help it. Seraphine hadn't been so honest with someone for a long while. She had been just fine with her life, even the secrecy. She had thought that she was okay with it; as long as she had her friends, there was nothing missing. But deep down, in places of her mind even she wouldn't visit, there was a feeling that something just wasn't the way it should be. Talking to Ted helped her realize that. She wasn't ready to expose herself to the rest of the Cahill word yet and the rest of the Cahill world wasn't ready either; but this realization was what she needed to know that she would have to do it one day. She and her family wouldn't be a secret forever. She had always known that, of course, but now she found out that she had the strength to handle the exposure, when it came. All in their own time though. For now, she would just enjoy Ted's and the other Cahills' company. She and her sister had plenty of time before the big reveal. And she was sure as hell going to enjoy it!

Amy wasn't embarrassed to be in her swimsuit round other people. She had gotten over her insecurities a long time ago; she had fought with the deadliest group of people on earth, after all. No, what embarrassed her was being in front of Ian. It wasn't that she had a crush on him (she didn't), it was just that she had a past with him. Not a very pleasant past too. So, yeah, she wasn't really comfortable being half naked around him. But she knew that she would have to. So taking a deep breath, she slipped off her dress as fast as she could. Feeling her cheeks burn, she placed her towel by a tree next to the lake, took her book out of her bag and began to read. Hardly had she read three pages, though, when she felt someone looking at her. She tried to ignore the feeling and keep on reading, but just couldn't stand it. So she dared to look up. She regretted it immediately.

Ian was looking at her. No, that was wrong; he wasn't looking, he was staring. Almost immediately, she felt the heat rush to the face. She diverted her eyes quickly and tried to read again. Just as she was begging to manage that, she felt someone sitting down next to her. She dared to steal a glance. Oh my God. This was probably the girliest reaction she could have, but she couldn't help it. Because Ian was the one sitting next to her, in all his half naked glory. She hadn't had a chance to see his body ever again and it was quite a shock to her senses. He was obviously fit, and his cinnamon skin only highlighted that. Snap out of it Amy. You do not have a crush on him, remember? She tried to distract herself and lose herself in her book, but it was impossible. Ian was far too close. Just as she was starting to feel really awkward, Ian spoke.

"Lovely day, isn't it, love?"

This might have sounded lame if anybody else had said it, but this was Ian Kabra and nothing sounded lame when he said it. Let alone when he added that little nickname that Amy loved/hated. Damn you, Ian Kabra!

"Indeed."

Well, at least she didn't stutter. Ian didn't give up due to her not being very responsive, though.

"What are you reading?"

He leaned closer as he said that, trying to make out the book's title, and Amy's heart skipped a beat. Or two. She wasn't sure.

"W-wuthering Heights."

It was good as it lasted, Amy thought. Her stutter was making a comeback, like it rarely did anymore. And whenever it did, she was around Ian. What a coincidence!

"Emily Bronte, right?"

"Yes."

She wanted to say something, anything, to break the silence. She couldn't stand it anymore.

"So, how is business going?"

Ian looked a bit taken aback by her question. Even Amy had to admit that it was the most irrelevant thing she could have said. But still, it was something.

"Very well, really. It has taken off lately."

"That's nice to hear!"

He nodded. Once again, silence overwhelmed her.

"How's Ethan?"

What?

"What?"

"How's Ethan? Your boyfriend."

Oh. That. Was it just Amy, or was there really a hint of jealousy in his tone when he said the word 'boyfriend'? Bitterness, maybe?

"He's not my boyfriend anymore."

"Oh! I'm sorry. What happened?"

Was that real concern in his voice?

"Nothing. It just couldn't work anymore. I knew it and so did he. We didn't fight. It was over long before we officially ended actually."

This time, there was no silence. They kept talking about trivial things. They didn't pay attention to the subject of their conversation, really. They just kept talking, because it felt nice. Amy could tell Ian was opening up to her, something he rarely did, so she did all she could to keep their talk going. It was an important moment and she knew it. She was getting to know Ian, the real Ian. He was being himself, not the rich British brat, not the cold and calculating Lucian. Just Ian. And, honestly, she liked him that way.

A/N: Aww such a cute little Amian ending! Did you like it? I sure enjoyed writing it! So, as always tell me what you think by reviewing! I will probably update in 4-5 days. Until then, I will have your reviews to keep me company, so REVIEW! (I think this has started to sound tiring... I will try to find a way to replace the word 'review'. Do you have any ideas? If yes, then review! Yep, certainly tiring!) Any kind of criticism is accepted, but please be polite.

Love,
Burning Tulip