Chapter Three:

"I'll have to get Harold to fix these," she frowned at the steep stairs, some had begun rotting and falling away. "He lives next door and takes care of the place for me." The bush they were traipsing through felt as though it would stretch forever but after only a couple of minutes he suddenly burst out into the open behind Magnus. He blinked a few times his eyes adjusting as they left the shade of the trees. The lake stretched out before him, the beach a strange mixture of black sand and white porous looking rocks. He bent and cupped a handful of the black sand in his hands and relished the warmth as he let it slide through his fingers. He looked over at Magnus who had an expectant look on her face.

"Black sand…?" He asked.

"Lake Taupo was created when Mt. Ruapehu erupted many years ago… It created the caldera which later filled with water forming a lake. So therefore the sand is black." She lifted a piece of white rock up and rubbed it between two fingers. "And this is pumice, a type of volcanic rock." She looked out over the water contemplating something; he didn't want to break the beauty of the moment so he left her to her thoughts and wandered to the water's edge.

"It's so clear." Will turned to find Magnus had a smirk on her face. A knot of worry formed in his stomach, nothing good ever came from a smirk like that… What was she up to?

"I think I may go for a swim," she bent and slipped off her shoes standing in the sand with her bare feet, wiggling her toes a little.

"I didn't bring my swimsuit," he told her, confused.

"Nor did I," she began unbuttoning her blouse and he blinked repeatedly wondering if maybe he had actually fallen down the bloody stairs after all… Maybe he was actually unconscious and dreaming. She cleared her throat and raised her eyebrows in his direction. (Nope, not dreaming).

"Oh," he walked back towards the stairs and looked up at them pretending that the bush they had just come through was intensely interesting. A minute or so later he heard a splash and he turned back around to see Magnus treading water.

"It's very refreshing… Are you coming in?" He knew she still wore her bra and panties… which wasn't much different from a bikini but… it still felt very intimate. Did he really want to swim with her? He had been right. Nothing good ever came from that smirk, now he had to decide how much self-control he actually possessed!

"I… Umm… Turn around then…" She laughed at this but did as he said. He slowly undressed to his boxers and then slipped into the water beside her. She turned and he watched her eyes rove over his bare chest and then… below the water. If she could ogle him, then surely he was allowed to do the same? He started at her chest he could see only from the top of her bra up but if he looked under the water he could… A splash in his face stopped him in his tracks and he blinked stupidly at Magnus.

"You wish," she told him in such an un-Magnus like voice he had to laugh. She suddenly disappeared beneath the water and he frantically looked around half expecting her to pull him under; but she didn't. She surfaced a few feet away with a cheeky smile on her face. Suddenly brave he dived underneath the water opening his eyes in the fresh water and swimming towards her legs. Oh this would be fun. He grabbed her ankles and tugged.

"You bastard…!"She cried as they surfaced. "That was an audacious move!" Her entire face had lit up and her eyes sparkled.

"Did I ever tell you about the Taniwha Will?" She cocked her head to the side in that adorable way that she does when she's about to reveal something curious.

"Nope, not that I recall anyway…."

"The Taniwha is supposedly a creature who will protect their tribe at all costs. It is thought they can live in any body of water. There are only Taniwha left in certain ocean harbours in New Zealand now. They were thought of to kill humans..." She paused for effect. "There are stories of the Taniwha stealing the wives of Maori tribes, eating children..." Magnus rolled her eyes. "As usual - this is incorrect. The Taniwha is as they describe - a creature the size of a whale but more dragon or lizard like in appearance... BUT they are entirely harmless, very docile creatures and they are herbivore only. They don't even have canines!"

"And you let me get into the water!" He yelped frantically looking around beneath the water. He suddenly felt as if there were things touching his legs and he felt a shiver up his spine.

"We are miles from the sea William," she rolled her eyes. "Calm down."

"Thank God," he told her seriously.

"Didn't you hear me tell you how docile the-" He cut her off.

"Don't use the word docile around me; I know what your docile abnormals are like…"

"I'm serious Will,"

"You always are," she splashed him again and he dived beneath the water to avoid any more splashing. He swam in the opposite direction to her but to his surprise when he surfaced they were face to face their noses almost touching.

"Boo," she smirked and pulled away from his face looking pleased with herself.

"That's it," he told her wagging his finger in her face. "Really," he pretended he was about to walk away but instead turned and grabbed her around the waist swinging her into his arms. It was no easy task pulling her out of the water… But he managed. He also managed to toss her into deeper water and then quickly move out of her reach. She resurfaced and pouted at him.

"That wasn't very fair Will…"

"Sorry about that Doc," he teased and backed away towards the shore. "I'm hungry… Catch you inside?" He got out of the water expecting her to wait until he had grabbed his clothes and begun climbing the stairs… But modesty seemed forgotten and she swam into shallower water and then just stepped out… He gaped at her standing next to him in nothing but her underwear. He had to remind himself about self-control – which almost went out the window when and leaned in close to his ear, her lips so close he could almost feel them…

"Payback," she whispered and bent to gather her clothes.

He was sure his eyes were going to fall out of his head watching her bend over her panties riding a little up her butt and… then she turned and glared at him. "I can feel your eyes Will, you can go up first." She pointed to the stairs and he moved robotically towards them. How the hell was he going to sleep tonight now? He was never going to get rid of those images.

TBC.