A/N: Sorry this took me so long, The Rossers Ten (yes, they have their own name now) would not cooperate with me.

They all slept in late the next morning, waking slowly and eating breakfast in shifts. The kids dawdled over their pancake breakfast, discussing their camping trip and what they might see. Sarah was especially concerned about bears, even after Lindsay's dad assured them that the bears usually stayed away from the area if they made sure to clean up their food, and that Lindsay would be carrying bear spray. Sarah was not convinced of her safety and kept sighing and shaking her head. On the other side of the coin, Ben and Junior were thrilled about the possibility of running into a bear. Too much time watching funny videos online had convinced them that all bears waved and danced and sat on couches and sometimes wore clothes.

Lindsay had the Suburban almost loaded with their luggage, tents, and other camping supplies, having pulled everything out and repacked it several times to get it to fit. The kids were going to have to hold their pillows in their laps and they might have luggage at their feet, but it would work. The fishing poles were packed carefully in the wooden box that her dad had made for just that reason. They probably wouldn't go fishing at all, but it didn't feel like they were really going camping unless they brought everything. The only thing left to do was stop at the grocery store on the way out of town. Feeding ten people for 3 days and only having one large cooler to fit everything into was going to be a difficult task, but she was certain that between her and Austin they could figure out a way to do it.

"Okay, the kids are ready to leave," Austin said, bringing one last bag out to the car. "We had to hold them down to scrub their faces, but they're ready to go."

"Good. Want to grab coats?"

"Linds, it's July. Why do we need coats?"

"I told you there might be snow."

"Just to remind you again, it's July."

"It's also Montana! Have you looked at those mountains?" she asked, pointing to the snow-capped mountains and sighing. "How am I supposed to take you camping in the mountains if you don't bring warm clothes? Even in the summer it's cold! Why didn't you listen to me?"

"I thought you were joking!" Austin defended as Adam came out of the house in a huge coat and the Ross kids trailed behind him, similarly dressed. He'd bundled them up so much that they looked like Randy in A Christmas Story and Avery had complained that she couldn't put her arms down more than once.

"I thought we could put on snow pants once we got there," he said, handing Lindsay a coat. "You'd better go bundle up your kids, Aust."

She just stood there, her jaw dropping almost to the ground while she stared at them.

"We can't go. I brought sweatshirts in case it gets cold at night, but… I didn't think you were serious!"

"Austin, why would I joke about that? I made you a list a month ago so you could get everything you needed. You told me you had everything."

"But… why didn't you check earlier?"

"Because you're a grown woman!" Lindsay said, fitting a knit hat on Avery's head. "Look, I'm sure my parents have some old winter stuff you guys can borrow."

"Hey Dunner, why don't you got a parka like me?" Ben asked, crinkling his forehead. "Don't you know we're sleepin' in the snow?"

"Ma, why didn't ya pack me a coat?" Junior wailed, dropping his hands to his side. "I don't want to die!"

"I thought Lin was teasing me!"

"I told you she was serious," Danny grumbled, shaking his head.

"Why didn't you tell me louder? I guess we're just going to have to come up with something."

"Huh?" Adam asked. "I was trying on the earmuffs, I didn't hear you."

Lindsay had to turn away to hide her laugh; they hadn't planned that moment.

"Aust, why would I lie to you about this?"

"Because you're insane! You want to go camping in the snow after all."

By this time the Messer kids were staring worriedly at the mountains while Lindsay's parents stood on the porch laughing silently at the drama unfolding in the driveway.

"You said I was going to get a tan if we went camping, but I didn't know "tan" was Montanian for "frostbite!" I cannot believe this."

"Austin-"

"Who goes camping in the snow? I mean, what kind of mental block do you have that makes it normal to go camping in freezing weather? We're sleeping in tents with no heat! We're going to die. This is a predicament that only the cast of the Jersey Shore would get into!"

Lindsay couldn't handle it anymore and burst into hysterical laughter, slumping against the car and trying to catch her breath.

"Austin… I was just… I was kidding…"

Austin's eyes got huge and she reached into the back of the car, pulling out one of the badminton rackets.

"You'd better run."

Lindsay gave a yelp and took off across the yard while Austin chased her, hollering about the unjustness of a prank like that on vacation. The kids all yelped in excitement, especially when Lindsay scrambled behind a tree, laughing so hard she could hardly stand up.

"I am so getting you for this one, Ross. You just wait. You're gonna wish you'd never crossed me."

"You be careful or I'll leave you in the woods."

Austin swore under her breath and shoved the racket back in the car, crossing her arms over her chest when Lindsay tried to hug her.

"Your face was so awesome."

"You're in so much trouble."

"Yeah, I know."

"Thanks for playing along, kids," Adam said, handing Colton, Ben and Avery each five dollars. Avery stuffed hers into her cow purse, Colton inspected his in the light and Ben sighed, handing it back to Adam.

"Make smaller dollars daddy. So I can share with Dunner on account of I pranked him too and I feel bad."

"Okay buddy."

"You paid your kids to play along with this?"

"Of course we did," Lindsay shrugged, taking the winter clothes off her kids.

Austin sighed again and helped the rest of the kids into the car, making sure they were all buckled.

"You're gonna get it. When you least expect it, you're gonna get it."

"Shakin' in my boots."

"Uh babe, you said there were toilets at this campsite," Adam said, looking around warily. "I don't see them."

"It's right there."

"That's an outhouse."

"Yes it is."

"You said toilets."

"I said toilet."

"Regardless of plural or singular, you did not indicate that it was an outhouse."

"I thought you knew what I meant."

"How was I supposed to know that?"

"Because you always know what I mean!"

"Mama, I need go potty," Avery wined, tugging on Lindsay's hand. "In there?"

"Yes, I'll take you in there and then daddy will see that an outhouse ain't nothin' to be scared of."

She took Avery's hand and they walked to the outhouse together, opening the old creaky door carefully. Avery stepped inside, then backed out quickly.

"Oh yuck! Yuck! EW!"

"Avery-"

"So gross! Ew! It so yucky in there!"

"Oh brother, it's not that bad."

"I hold it until we go home," Avery decided, pushing her hair back from her face.

"It can't be that yucky, Aves," Colton sighed, shaking his head and heading for the outhouse. The door had only been opened for one second before he ran away, claiming whatever was in there was alive. Isa was next, approaching the outhouse hesitantly, then pulling the door open and stepping inside bravely.

"Oh hell no!" she screamed, running back out the door and as far away as she could get.

"I guess it's our turn Binyin."

The boys walked to the outhouse and opened the door. Ben rushed out quickly, heading for the bushes to take care of business. Junior was fascinated with the whole thing, leaning down over the hole, trying to see what was down there.

"Hello!" he shouted. "Anybody down there?"

"Okay, that's enough playing. I have air freshener in the car if you really need to go to the bathroom."

"Let's set up our tents so we can see what we're sleepin' in!" Junior suggested, crouching down to pick a bug out of the dirt. "Me and Binyin wanna sleep by each other so we can talk lots."

"Yeah, we got lots of discussin' to do. 'Bout first grade."

"Don't remind us that you're already in the first grade," Austin said, helping Adam unload the car while Danny put down three tarps where the tents would be set up. The kids would all be in one together, out of the necessity because they only had one tent for them anyway. Colton and Isa were excited that the ban on co-ed sleepovers was being lifted for the next few nights, and were planning on staying up as late as they could.

"Um, Danny, do you know what you're doing?"

"It's a tent, how hard could it be?"

"Those happen to be the words spoken by every green camper who ended up sleeping in the car. Let me show you."

"Hey, I am a man, I can provide shelter."

"Okay. You do your tent and I'll do my tent. Winner does the kids tent."

"You drive a hard bargain Montana, but I'll shake on that."

"This can't go no place but disaster," Adam muttered to Austin who just nodded.

"Um, Uncle Adam, should Averylin really be jumping off that picnic table?" Sarah asked, eyeing her friend warily.

"Avery, get down from there."

She wrinkled her nose but obeyed while Isa pulled a bandana from the back of the car and swung it over her head.

"Who wants to play Marco Polo?"

"I wanna be the Marco guy!" Ben hollered excitedly. "Can I, Isa?"

"Sure. C'mere and I will put this blindfold on you. Let me know if it's too tight."

She put the blindfold on him and guided him over to the open area next to their campsite then made him stand still while she and Colton checked the ground for things he could trip over or fall into.

"Okay ready?"

"Marco!" Ben shouted, heading off with his arms out in front of him.

"Okay Linds, you win. What am I doin' here?" Danny asked, frustrated as he looked at the tent again. "This pole thing doesn't go in the place it's supposed to and it's color coded!"

"You have the right pole but the wrong… oh let me do it."

Austin and Adam snickered while Lindsay and Danny put the rest of the tents together, getting in each other's way and more than once tripping over the tent or the poles. In the same second that the tents were all put together, a loud wailing came from the direction of the kids.

"I runned into a tree!" Ben cried while Isa led him to the picnic table and Sarah tried to get the blindfold off of him.

"He sure smacked his nose hard," Junior added, shaking his head. "Binyin maybe you won't be able to smell much and then you can go in that neat bathroom!"

"Sweetie, let me see your face," Lindsay said, sitting down at the table with him. "Oh boy."

"My glasses are broke! I won't be able to see our whole campin' trip!"

"Ben, I have your extra pair in the car, but stop squirming and let me check out your nose."

"It doesn't hurt bad. Just scuffed up!"

"Okay. If it starts to hurt will you let me know?"

"Yep! Now could you get my other glasses so I could open my eyes?"

"This might end up being a really long three days."

A third bag of marshmallows was being opened for roasting, over a pound of chocolate had already been eaten, the kids were sporting redness on the apples of their cheeks, and they'd discovered that the outhouse wasn't so bad if they left the door propped open when it was vacant. They'd all spent a few hours exploring the area and relaxing in the fresh air but once night fell, they'd all gathered around the campfire that Lindsay and Adam had spent half an hour arguing over and trying to light.

Avery and Sarah were curled up in one chair together, sharing a blanket and talking quietly, seemingly unaware that the S'mores were getting eaten without them. The gap in their ages was less pronounced now than it had been a year ago, and while Sarah still took on somewhat of a mothering role over Avery, they were a lot more equal than they once had been.

"Here, I made you a special one, don't tell the kids," Lindsay said, handing Austin a S'more before sitting down in the double camp chair next to her.

"Special? What's in it?"

"Peanut butter cup instead of plain."

Austin chuckled and took a bite, sighing happily as she stared at the fire.

"You okay?"

"Hmm? I'm fine."

"Austin, you've been really quiet and your eyebrows are always all wrinkled and sometimes when I look at you, you're so far away. And now I know how you feel when I do this."

"I'm okay, Lin. I just really needed this vacation. Everything at work has been piling up, I feel like the kids are growing up and I'm missing it, and working long hours means I haven't seen Danny nearly as much as I need to. I've just been looking for a break."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Good, because I've missed you."

"I know. This is the best S'More I've ever had."

"It was made with love."

"You're so cheesy."

"I know."

"Hey ma, can't we go swimmin' yet?" Junior asked, climbing up into her lap. "I really wanna."

"Not tonight, it's too cold. Maybe after lunch tomorrow."

"Like a hour after lunch because that's the rule about swimmin' and eating?"

"Yeah, maybe an hour after lunch."

"Okay. Binyin, one hour after lunch tomorrow, we could swim!"

"That's awesome! Colt, are you gonna teach sissy how to swim?"

"I don't know but I could try! Hey Aves, want me to teach you how to swim tomorrow?"

"Maybe."

"I don't know, you might be too busy gettin' thrown in the lake to teach your sister how to swim," Danny said with a little smile.

"Who's gonna throw me in the lake?"

"Anyone who can catch you."

Colton laughed delightedly and Isa laughed too, certain she would be receiving the same fate as her best friend.

"Okay kiddos, I think it's about time to get ready for bed."

"How are we gonna brush our teeths without a bathroom?" Ben questioned. "I been thinkin' about this all day and I comed to no solution."

"You can use the water pump."

"But where on God's green earth am I supposed to spit?"

"Right on God's green earth," Isa answered with a laugh. "C'mon, get your toothbrush and I will show you."

"Okay. I got a toothbrush what lights up and does the Star Wars music. Daddy got them specially for me and Cole for this trip. Sissy got one what's a Barbie and the toothbrush comes outta her head."

Isa cackled as the kids went to find their toothbrushes, sharing the one tube of toothpaste they had.

"No way! Hey mama, the Messers toothpaste has sparkles in it! I can see it by the light of my toothbrush!" Colton shouted. "And it tastes like oranges!"

"Clearly you are way cooler about dental hygiene than I am," Lindsay snickered.

"Hey you kids, quit usin' my toothpaste!"

"You have sparkly orange toothpaste?"

"It had Transformers on it, I couldn't help it."

"You're so weird."

"Mama! Snuggles now!" Avery said, standing by the door of the tent. "C'mere. I sleep by Sarah. She have princess bed."

Lindsay chuckled and followed Avery into the tent, tucking her into the small sleeping bag and putting a blanket over her.

"There, all settled?"

"You be close, mama?"

"Yes, I'll be just a few feet away."

"Okay."

"Sleep good baby. I'll see you in the morning."

"Night mama. Gimme a kiss."

"I love you, Averylin. Goodnight."

The rest of the kids were piling into the tent and Lindsay and Austin spent several minutes getting them all settled, then kissing them goodnight. Colton sighed and wiped off his cheek after Lindsay kissed him, which only made her chuckle and do it again.

"Doesn't matter how much you wipe it off, I still love you and I am always going to kiss you."

"Aw mama," he whined, putting his arms up to shield him from the kisses. "I'm gonna be ten soon, think you could stop then?"

"I'll stop kissing you if you start kissing me."

"Oh geez," he muttered, rolling over to bury his face in his pillow.

"I love you Colton."

"I love you too, weirdo."

With one last kiss which he didn't wipe off, she left the tent and zipped up the door behind her, knowing that the whispering and giggling the kids were doing wasn't going to last too much longer.

"You'd better not forget to put that food away," Austin was saying, stuffing some trash into a bag. "You heard about the bears."

"You think I'm scared of bears?" Danny asked, shaking his head. "We'll see who's scared of bears. Just you wait."

"You're gonna try to scare me?"

"Nope, the two of you don't have to worry. You're not our target," he answered, bumping fists with Adam who was chuckling.

"What are you two planning?"

"Just wait until the kids fall asleep," Adam grinned pulling Lindsay down into his lap. "You'll see."

"Oh boy. Are we going to have to console screaming children?"

"Maybe, maybe not."

"Austin, why do we ever leave them alone together?"

"Not sure but we should stop. They might turn on us next time."

"Hey, you two ain't much better."

"Maybe not," Lindsay shrugged. "Anyone want to go night swimming?"

"Are you crazy? It's freezing!"

"It's not that bad once you get in. C'mon Aust, live a little."

"No way. I don't want to get a cold with you again."

"Party pooper."

"Yeah because sniffling and coughing and using an entire bottle of NyQuil is super fun times."

"Lame."

"I'll go with you tomorrow babe. I'm too tired right now."

"Okay."

He leaned up and whispered a few words in her ear that made her giggle and blush, and she was thankful that the fire was dying down enough that it wouldn't be found out.

"So now what?" Austin asked, stoking the fire a little. "No light out, the kids are in bed and we don't have electricity. So what do we do?"

"We could tell ghost stories," Danny suggested with a shrug as Austin tossed her feet into his lap.

"Oh whatever. You don't know no ghost stories."

"I do so!"

"Buddy, you didn't even know the one about the girl with a ribbon around her neck," Adam chuckled.

"Okay so I'm not great at ghost stories. Geez."

"Lindsay isn't either, she starts laughing hysterically in the middle of them every time."

"I do not!"

"Yes you do! You remember the time the power went out and you kept trying to scare me with stories but you couldn't because you were laughing too hard?"

"That's because ghost stories are ridiculous!"

"Finally, something Lindsay can't do!"

"Hey, I can't sew either. Go ahead Austin, tell us a good ghost story."

It was several false starts between both Adam and Austin, trying to come up with a story that no one else had heard or one that was actually scary. Everything just ended up being funny, and they soon gave up, falling into silence.

"So, you guys gonna prank the kids and get it over with so we can go to bed?"

"Yeah, as long as they're asleep."

Lindsay sighed and got out of Adam's lap then sat back down, shaking her head while the guys moved quietly towards the kids tent.

"What do you think they're doing?" Lindsay whispered.

"No clue."

As the guys circled the tent, one of them let out a soft growl while the other scratched at the tent several times, until there was movement from inside.

"Colton Matthew… Isa… there's a monster!"

"What kind of monster?"

"I don't know! A bear! It growled!"

There was silence from the tent and then another low growl from outside. A flashlight went on and there was a scuffle, which found Danny at the receiving end of a harsh strike with Isa's flashlight. He moaned and crumpled to the ground while all the kids tumbled out of the tent in various states of upset. Avery and Sarah were crying, Ben and Junior had their shoes in their hands to use as weapons, and Colton and Isa looked like they were out for blood.

"That wasn't a bear, it was daddy!" Isa exclaimed, rushing to his side. "And I almost knocked his block off."

Adam was laughing so hard he could barely stand, but managed to calm Avery and Sarah down a little while Danny writhed on the ground.

"Daddy, I am so, so sorry! I thought you were a bear!"

"Not your fault," he squeaked out, sitting up. "Dang, you can swing."

"Well, you did teach me. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

She and Colton helped him up and he rubbed at the back of his head while Lindsay and Austin shook with silent laughter.

"This isn't funny, girls."

"Yeah, it actually is."

"I need to lay down."

"Isabeth, give me your flashlight so I can check out the damage," Austin chuckled, helping Danny into their tent. Isa obeyed, looking quite upset and feeling guilty.

"Adam you want to put the kids back to bed and I'll put the fire out?"

"Sure."

The kids filed back into the tent and climbed into their sleeping bags, now energized because of their naps. Adam tucked them all back in, taking an extra minute to reassure Isa that she'd done nothing wrong, no one was mad at her, and she didn't need to be upset about it. She sniffled and wiped at her eyes while he leaned down to hug her.

"It's okay, princess, I promise."

"I wouldn't have done it if I knew it was daddy."

"I know. Maybe it wasn't a good idea for us to try and scare you guys."

"Yeah, maybe it's part your fault too."

"Probably is. Don't feel bad honey."

"Okay. Night, Dum."

"Night, princess."

He backed out of the tent and zipped the door shut, then helped Lindsay with the rest of the cleanup before they went into their tent to change.

"Okay, you were right, it's pretty cold up here. I rescind my previous teasing about the extra blankets you brought, and instead I thank you."

"You're welcome."

"And genius idea on connecting our sleeping bags because I don't think I am a fan of sleeping next to you but not next to you."

"I thought the same thing. Hurry up and get over here, I'm freezing."

He slid down next to her, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist and kissing her forehead.

"You think Danny's okay?" she whispered after a moment. "We're not going to have to take him in for a concussion will we?"

"Nah, she didn't hit him that hard."

Lindsay nodded then burst into laughter, loud enough that it caused a groan from the other tent.

"Shut up Montana."